Posted on 09/15/2003 12:16:52 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
U.S. Assisted Moscow Missile Program
The Clinton administration was well known for its refusal to spend money on new weapons. President Clinton reduced the number of aircraft carriers, cut Army divisions, retired whole Air Force squadrons and did not field one major weapon system during the entire 1990s.
However, there is one missile success story that can be directly attributed to the tireless efforts of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. This fantastic missile would not be in active service today if it were not for the personal efforts of Bill and Al.
Unfortunately, the missile is made in Russia.
The Russian air force has announced that it will soon field the improved Kh-31 rocket-ramjet missile. The Kh-31PM, known to NATO as the AS-17A Krypton, is designed to attack U.S.-made radars used by Patriot air defense sites and Aegis warships.
The titanium Kh-31 was built in 1988 by the Russian Zvezda-Strela State Science and Production Center for the former Soviet Union. The PM version of the Krypton missile offers extended range and features improved passive seeker electronics, enabling it to pick up a wide range of radar targets.
The PM also incorporates into its design virtually all of the improvements suggested by a team of U.S. military engineers who worked on the Krypton during the Clinton years.
Mr. Gore Goes to Moscow
In 1995, the U.S. Navy acquired the Kh-31 from Russia as part of an arms deal cut behind closed doors by Vice President Gore and Russian Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. On first blush this sounds like a great idea. We provide cash to the bankrupt Russian defense industry and in return we acquire advanced weapons.
However, Gore was suckered by Moscow. The Krypton deal did not include the real guts of the missile, its electronic seeker. According to one Russian defense source, the Kryptons supplied to America were little more than "hollow target shells."
In 1995, the U.S. Navy also determined that the Russian Krypton missiles did not include the all-important radar "seeker" and guidance electronics from the weapon version.
"Removal of the seeker will preclude use of the MA-31 (Krypton) for testing the effectiveness of soft-kill EW (electronic warfare) systems and decoys," states a 1995 Navy report.
At this point, U.S. engineers provided direct assistance to Russian weapons engineers in order to make the Krypton work. The OK came from the highest levels in the Clinton administration and included U.S.-funded trips to American test sites by Russian missile engineers.
Russian, U.S. Navy and McDonnell Douglas engineers conducted a series of "P3I" or "pre-planned product improvements" to the Russian weapon, extending its range from 15 to 42 miles, and allowing pilots to safely fire the weapon without killing themselves.
"The MA-31 (Krypton) target will need (pre-planned product improvements) P3I," stated a 1995 McDonnell Douglas review document.
According to the 1995 McDonnell Douglas review, the "extended range option" given to the Russian contractor "adds an auxiliary fuel tank, a reduced drag nose cone, changes the fuel to JP-10 (which has a higher specific energy content than the Russian fuel), and modifies the ramjet nozzle. The extended range modification is intended to increase range to approximately 42 nm (nautical miles) at 10m (meter) altitude."
Deadly to Operate
Another crucial design improvement given to Russia involved "Ground Jettison Testing" done by the U.S. defense contractor against the Russian missile.
According to the 1995 program review document, the Russian-built launcher for the Krypton was fatally flawed and could destroy the firing plane, killing the pilot.
"An anomaly was encountered during testing of the emergency jettison sequence," states the 1995 report.
"In all cases the booster would have been armed, and ignition could have occurred for any of several reasons. (McDonnell Douglas) MDAC has determined that use of a longer lanyard and slower separation velocity would allow proper operation of the emergency jettison sequence. The problem has been turned over to the Russians for resolution." The team of U.S. and Russian engineers eventually worked out all the problems with the Krypton. In 1997, the U.S. Navy test fired four of the ramjet powered, titanium cruise missile. One Krypton reached a reported 1,700 miles per hour at 100 feet.
28 Percent Fee for the Kremlin
However, the problem-plagued Krypton project was also dogged by allegations of improper financial activity. In 1999, Jane’s Defense reported that each missile included a 28 percent "fee" given directly to Russian generals. U.S. Navy documents show that each Krypton missile costs $910,000. The 28 percent fee per missile paid directly to the Russian generals is over $250,000 dollars.
When asked about the 28 percent "fee" given directly to the Russian generals, the U.S. Navy provided an official written response.
"The prime contractor with McDonnell Douglas, now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, does not include, and is not required to include any clauses specifically addressing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," noted the Navy reply.
"We send the money to the Russians," stated Mr. G. Hotze, the program manager for the Navy Krypton project. "What they do with it is their business."
Exported to China
The U.S. assistance on the Krypton also paid off for Moscow from other sources. Once the U.S. and Russian engineers successfully modified the weapon, Moscow began an aggressive marketing effort to sell the anti-radar weapon to Iran, India and China.
The Russians, according to Jamestown Foundation defense analyst Richard Fisher, have sold the "improved" Krypton to China.
"China recently signed a deal with Russia to co-produce the extended-range version of the Krypton," said Fisher.
"The Chinese intend to produce the KR-1, their own version of the Kh-31p improved Krypton. In addition, the recent sale of Russian Sukhoi SU-30MK supersonic strike bombers to the Chinese air force also includes Krypton missiles. We can expect to see the Krypton proliferate to Iran and other hostile customers."
The Kh-31 Krypton has been in service for the Russian air force in limited numbers since the early 1990s. These early versions of the Krypton do not incorporate the improvements made by the joint U.S./Russian efforts on the missile.
The Russian air force is expected to retire the limited number of older Krypton missiles in favor of the new Kh-31PM version.
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