This new generation of Russian air-to-surface missiles is the Kh-32 anti-ship missile, mainly used to replace the Kh-22 series of anti-ship missiles previously equipped by the Tu-22M3 bomber.
Since the Kh-22 series of anti-ship missiles is essentially a heavy-duty, long-range supersonic air-launched anti-ship cruise missile born in the 1960s, most of its performance indicators are now very outdated and ineffective Breakthrough the shipborne air defense and anti-missile system of the U.S. Navy’s increasing performance.
As a result, Russia has only now begun to equip a new generation of Kh-32 anti-ship missiles to improve the anti-aircraft carrier capability of the Tu-22M3 bomber. Of course, since the 1980s, the former Soviet Union has begun to work on the Kh-22M3 bomber. The development and design of the Kh-32 anti-ship missile have been completed.
Still, due to the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and other reasons in the later period, it was not until now that Russia, which took over the mantle of the former Soviet Union, officially began to equip this new missile. The Kh-22 missile has a significant advantage over the Iskander and Caliber cruise missiles. The warhead of the Caliber cruise missile is 400~500 kg, and the warhead of the Iskander tactical missile is 480~700 kg. The warhead of the Kh-22 missile is much more than these two, and it is more than twice the caliber. That means its power is twice as mighty.
It is understood that after the Kh-32 missile is ignited, it will first climb upwards and fly into the stratosphere above the troposphere of the earth’s atmosphere. At an altitude of 40 kilometers from the surface, it will fly horizontally. The missile can fly at a speed of 5,400 kilometers per hour, about 4.4 times the speed of sound. For such “high-altitude and high-speed” flying objects, it is difficult for many surface and ground air defense radars to determine their proper orientation.
After approaching the target, the Kh-32 missile will dive at a large angle relative to the ground, break through the air defense fire network, and attack the target from top to bottom. The farthest target it can hit is 1,000 kilometers away from the missile launcher. The strike list of the Kh-32 missile includes aircraft carriers and their escort fleets, naval bases, radar detection stations, and sites that use clutter to implement radar jamming, power stations, and important bridges.