Posted on 12/17/2013 12:26:05 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Not many images showing the KH-22, a large, long-range cruise missile developed by the Soviet Union to target U.S. Navy aircraft carriers with a conventional or nuclear warhead, can be found on the Internet.
Those that you can find if you Google “KH-22″ are mainly old ones, hence a recent clear air-to-air image showing a Tu-22M Backfire flying with a couple of missiles that are dubbed AS-4 “Kitchen” by NATO, deserve a mention.
The photograph in this post was uploaded on the Russianplanes.net portal by a user using the nickname “White” and shows the Tu-22 flying with two KH-22s (most probably upgraded to the KH-32 version, which features new seeker head and rocket motor), capable to reach a top speed of about Mach 5 and a range around 700 km.
One missile is clearly visible under the port wing, the other one is probably carried on the starboard underwing pylon.
Never mind. Mach 5 missile, duh.
Nah, I was thinking about the plane, not the missiles which I assume have rocket engines.
Unless they have a matter antimatter engine on that missile I have trouble with believing the range based on its size. Maybe 75-100 miles based on speed of mach 2 or 3 at best!
AS-4 is rocket powered.
Maybe you should compare it to the AIM-54 before you reject the claims. A much smaller missile that had a range of 190 km at Mach 5.
Not familiar with the upgrade to KH-32...sure look pretty much the same on the outside as an AS-4 Kitchen (KH-22).
Just checked what it used for fuel.
Hydrazine & IRFNA (inhibited red fuming nitric acid).
Some nasty stuff.
That little make believe Iranian Stealth Fighter has some competition from a make believe missile.
Those are indeed “Star Trek” numbers but that’s within the performance scope of the AS-4. What’s new and different about this one here is the seeker and motor.
The AS-4 itself is nothing new. It’s been around since the early 1960s and it’s primary job has largely been believed as a carrier-killer although it could be used against land targets. Imagine that sucker, all 12500lbs, slamming into you at Mach 5. Oh, yeah, and then its 2k warhead would explode too.
Thanks Robert A. Cook, PE.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.