Douglas Barrie/London
Russian tactical missile house Zvezda Strela is developing an extended-range variant of its 3M-24 anti-ship missile (SS-N-25/AS-20 Kayak) with twice the engagement range of the original.
The improved variant also uses satellite-based course-correction and has a coastal attack capability. The 3M-24 can be ship-, fixed, or rotary-wing-launched, with the Kamov Ka-27 maritime helicopter and the Tupolev Tu-142 Bear both associated with the weapon.
The export version of the missile, the 3M-24E1, is called Uranium, for which Zvezda Strela claims a maximum engagement range of 250-300km. The design bureau says that this range is 75% greater than that of the 3M-24E.
The 3M-24E and E1 use an active radar for the terminal phase of engagement. Acquisition ranges for the 3M-24E1 are given as 15km against a patrol boat and 22km against a destroyer.
After launch, the missile cruises during the mid-course of the engagement at a maximum altitude of 33ft (10m). In the final phase of the attack, it initially descends to 10ft, and potentially as low as 5ft, in the run-up to target impact.
The 3M-24E1 has the advantage of being fully autonomous after launch, relying only on satellite navigation - probably the Russian GLONASS - for mid-course correction. The new version weighs 700kg, including the solid rocket-launch booster - some 100kg more than the original.
Along with the active radar guided variant, Zvezda Strela has developed an electro-optical seeker variant, thought to be associated with the Kh-37 designator. It is understood that the EO variant has been built and test-fired, but no production contract for the weapon has been placed.
Source: Flight International
