tu 121 cruise missile

• Tupolev aircraft
• 1950s Soviet experimental aircraft
• Cruise missiles of the Soviet Union

Tupolev Tu-121

The Tupolev Tu-121 was an unmanned aircraft, intended for use as a cruise missile , designed by Tupolev in the Soviet Union during the Cold War .

• 1 Development
• 2 Specifications
• 4 References

Development [ ]

In 1957 Tupolev Design Bureau was in very good standing. Their Tu-95 was being actively introduced to the Air Force, their Tu-16 was being produced on three plants. Tupolev, however, was worried about Nikita Khruschev 's growing interest in rocket weapons. USSR made significant progress in rocket science and was preparing to launch their first rocket - R-7. Rockets seemed invincible for the existing and future anti-aircraft systems. Soviet bombers weren't so lucky, being extremely vulnerable. The NORAD system, which was being developed and deployed by the USA at the time was practically impermeable for the strategic bombers of that era. [1]

Various attempts to arm Tu-95 with missiles had a serious drawback - the bomber itself remained vulnerable to interceptors and ground-to-air missiles.

Tu-121 was conceived as an aircraft able to reach speeds of over 20,000 km/h and flight altitude of 50 km which would allow it to easily penetrate American both air- and missile defence systems. However, even at the early stages Tupolev himself realized his bureau was unable to develop such an aircraft. The biggest problem was immense heat. The materials necessary to build the heat-shield were only developed in 1980s for Buran programme .

The aircraft was built and several test launches were performed. However, it didn't go beyond prototype phase. The R-12 rocket, developed by Mikhail Yangel had better range and accuracy. On 5 February 1960, the project was officially cancelled.

The aircraft was a full-metal monoplane made almost entirely of traditional materials. The wing had no high-lift devices . The aircraft was piloted using vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Most of the fuselage consisted of fuel tanks.

Specifications [ ]

Data from http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bpla/tu121.html

General characteristics

• Crew: unmanned
• Length: 24.77 m (81 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 8.40 m (27 ft 7 in)
• Empty weight: 11,450 kg (25,243 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 35,000 kg (77,162 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 16,600 kg

Performance

• Maximum speed: 2,775 km/h (1,724 mph; 1,498 kn)

See also [ ]

• AGM-28 Hound Dog

References [ ]

• ↑ http://www.airwar.ru/enc/bpla/tu121.html
• 1 List of aircraft of the Malaysian Armed Forces

Testimonials

About this site

About the author

Acknowledgment:

Author thanks Igor Puchkov at NPO Mashinostroenia for his help in preparing this section.

Related pages:

Vehicle 212

Hypersonic vehicles

Kholod project

Russian cruise missiles

From the beginning of the 20th century, rocket technology evolved into two major forms: wingless ballistic vehicles, flying beyond the atmosphere like a shell from a cannon and cruise missiles, relying on wings to fly within the atmosphere.

An artistic recreation of the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile based on available visuals released by the Russian Ministry of Defense. (bottom left).

During the arm race of the 1950s, these two breeds of rockets competed to achieve intercontinental range, with ballistic missiles eventually becoming the ultimate strategic weapon of the Cold War. In its turn, the cruise missile evolved into tactical weapon, designed to hit land and sea targets.

In the 1960s, the Soviet navy adopted cruise missiles to counteract a perceived threat from the US Navy. Despite its purely military applications, cruise missile technology stimulated development in several other fields, including the space program. In the Soviet Union, challenges associated with the targeting of long-range cruise missiles justified the creation of space-based guidance systems and even prompted development of manned military outposts in space .

In the post-Soviet period, aircraft-based cruise missiles continued playing a strategic role in the Russian armed forces. In 2011 , the Ministry of Defense planned to purchase 20 such vehicles.

In October 1944, the remnants of a German V-1 cruise missile shot down over London arrived in Moscow courtesy of the British allies. On June 14 of the same year, Minister of Aviation Industry Shakhurin and Marshal of Artillery Novikov accompanied young engineer Vladimir Chelomei to the Kremlin for a meeting with Malenkov, Stalin's Deputy responsible for the aviation industry.

Malenkov asked Chelomei, who previously had conducted independent research in the field of cruise missiles, about the possibility of duplicating the German V-1. Chelomei replied with an impressive speech, advocating the enormous potential of this kind of technology.

Yaroslav Golovanov quoted Chelomei ( 18 ) as saying that two days after the meeting with Malenkov, he had a 100-person-strong collective formed within TsIAM and designated Department 6.

On September 17, 1944, (according to another source -- on September 19 ( 29 )), Chelomei was appointed a chief designer of the aviation plant No. 51, until that time a part of the production facilities of the late Nikolai Polikarpov, a renowned airplane designer.

By the end of 1944, Chelomei had reproduced the German engine and in the first half of 1945 he had designed a similar cruise missile, 10Kh, which apparently was never mass-produced but was tested in flight after launch from a Pe-8 bomber. Like Korolev , Chelomei made a trip to Germany searching for related technology.

Later, Chelomei proposed the Soviet Air Force new versions of his cruise missiles -- 14Kh and 16Kh -- designed for launch in midair from long-range bombers like Pe-8 and Tu-4. Ground based and navy versions of the same cruise missiles, known as 10 KhN and 10KhM, were also under development.

All projects faced enormous problems with flight control systems, which took years to solve. By 1953, the Air Force had grown skeptical of such weapons. ( 27 )

By that time, Artem Mikoyan, the chief-designer of Soviet MIG fighter jets, who employed Sergei Beriya, the son of Stalin's security chief, proposed a competing project of a cruise missile. As a result, in February 1953, just weeks before his death, Joseph Stalin signed a decree, making Plant No. 51 and its design bureau a branch of Mikoyan's OKB-155.

Chelomei lost his position as chief designer and was left with his professorship at the Moscow High Technical School (MVTU).

New beginning

The death of Stalin on March 1, 1953, essentially brought Malenkov to power in the USSR. He remembered the young designer, and helped him rebuild his collective.

On June 9, 1954, the Ministry of Aviation Industry, MAP, issued a decree, creating the Special Design Group (SKG-10), which was based at Plant No. 500 in the town of Tushino, near Moscow. Former employees of Plant No. 51, as well as a group of young engineers made the new 80-member team of SKG-10.

Chelomei started promoting his winged missiles for Navy use, particularly for submarines. The projected missile, designated P-5, featured folding wings, which would deploy automatically in midair after the launch from the launch container under its own power.

During the Summer of 1955, Chelomei got a phone call from the president of the Academy of Sciences, Mastislav Keldush, who informed him that the decision had been made to build a new enterprise for the implementation of Chelomei's proposals on submarine-launched cruise missiles.

On July 19 and Aug. 8, 1955, government decrees reorganized SKG-10 into Union Experimental Design Bureau No. 52, or shortly OKB-52.

The competitors

The new organization, based in the town of Reutov, just east of Moscow, initially occupied a single brick building of the Reutov Mechanical Plant, known to the residents as the "drunken plant." Chelomei had to survive harsh competition to place his missiles onboard Soviet submarines. Such experienced aviation designers as Mikoyan, Iluyshin and Beriev, all proposed alternative designs of long-range cruise missiles. Beriev's design bureau, based in Taganrog, was developing the P-10 cruise missile, as a direct competitor to Chelomei's P-5. ( 73 )

In addition, during 1958-1971, the design bureau led by A. Ya. Bereznyak successfully developed surface-based short range missiles, such as the land and sea-based KSR-11 and KSR-5 missiles, air-launched KRM, Kh-22 and Kh-55 missiles and ground-based P-15 missile. ( 129 )

Nevertheless, by mid-1950s, Chelomei's cruise missiles had won a long-range "niche" in the Soviet navy, while Beriev's P-10 project was canceled. That was the beginning of Chelomei's personal ascent as well as that of his OKB-52, which culminated during Khrushchev's years.

P-5 and others

The 4,300-kilogram P-5 missile, introduced in 1959, had a range of 500 kilometers and a speed of 1,250 kilometers per hour. It carried a 1,000-kilogram warhead.

For the rest of the 20th century, the development center founded by Vladimir Chelomei and later renamed NPO Mashinostroenia, continued with follow-on generations of long-range cruise missiles, including the P-5D, P-6, P-7, C-6, P-35, Ametist, Malakhit, Bazalt, Granit, Progress, Vulkan, Meteorit and Yakhont.

The P-5 and P-5D missiles were adopted by the Soviet navy, while a modification, known as C-5, was offered to the ground forces. ( 130 ) The P-6 missile was adopted for the armament of submarines in 1962.

In 1959, OKB-52 started development of the Ametist, the world's first cruise missile capable of taking off from a submerged submarine. The rocket was equipped with a solid-propellant engine and had a range of 80 kilometers. In 1967, the first submarine with the Ametist missiles had been deployed and the system was considered operational in 1968.

More advanced, the Malakhit missile, was introduced in 1972. As its predecessor, the new vehicle used solid-propellant engine, but had an increased range and could be deployed on submarines, as well as on surface ships. The Granit missile was also designed for underwater and surface launch.

The P-35 cruise missile was developed specifically for the coastal defense complex, known as Redut.

A 2,500-kilogram Yakhont missile, equipped with a ramjet engine, was designed for surface and air launch. The version designed for surface launch was also equipped with a so-called launching-accelerator stage, burning solid fuel. Depending on the launch platform, the Yakhont had a range of 120 to 300 kilometers and a speed of 750 meters per second. It was capable of carrying 200 kilogram of explosives. ( 132 )

In total, NPO Mash built 20 weapon systems, or 60 percent of all the anti-ship missiles carried by the Russian navy in the 1990s.

Some of the newest cruise missiles, developed at NPO Mashinostroenia, were exported to India at the beginning of the 21st century. ( 22 )

Recent developments:

A Tupolev-160, Tu-160, jet bomber was one of several Russian carriers of cruise missiles at the beginning of the 21st century.

2001 July: According to an article published in the Washington Times , sometimes in the middle of July, Russia conducted an unannounced test of a new scramjet-powered missile, which, reportedly was tracked by US radars, as it hit an impact range at Kamchatka Peninsula (apparently Kura range). The newspaper claimed that the cruise missile was launched on top of the SS-25 (Topol) ICBM and after reaching an apogee of its trajectory separated from the booster stage reentered the atmosphere and continued flying toward the target. According to the newspaper, the launch took place in "central Russia," which is probably Plesetsk . The Washington Times report apparently reached Russia in misinterpreted form, so when asked if Russia had conducted any new ICBM tests, the representative of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said that no new ICBMs had been tested recently.

2002 Oct. 12: Russian armed forces had a busy weekend on Saturday, October 12, 2002, conducting the most extensive missile launching exercise in years. According to the Russian media, the nation's submarines stationed in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Barents Sea fired long-range missiles at the targets at Cape Kanin Nos in the Russia's northern regions and at Kamchatka Peninsula, respectively. On the same day, strategic bombers launched cruise missiles aimed at targets beyond the polar circle and the Volga River region. To complete the picture, the Topol ICBM flew a training mission from Plesetsk to Kamchatka Peninsula.

2004 Feb. 17: Tu-95MS strategic bombers successfully launched cruise missiles and safely returned to their bases.

2004 June 29: Russian Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, test-fired an R-36M missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The flight aimed to certify the service life of such systems for a 20-year period.

In the meantime, the submarine Ekaterinburg (Dolphin Class, Project 667) from the Russian Northern Fleet launched a D-9RM ballistic missile from its underwater position in the Barenz Sea. The missile's warhead successfully reached the Kura impact range on Kamchatka Peninsula.

On the same day, a Tupolev-95MS strategic bomber conducted a training launch of a long-range cruise missile. After takeoff from its base in the town of Engels, Saratov Region, the aircraft covered around 3,000 kilometers before releasing the missile. The weapon reportedly hit its target on the island of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean.

2004 Dec. 24: Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov, attending the launch of the Topol-M mobile ICBM from Plesetsk, said that during 2005, Russian Air Force would recieve new long-range nuclear capable cruise missiles.

2008 Oct. 12: Russian strategic bombers conducted multiple launches of cruise missiles. Tu-160 and Tu-95MS aircraft, participated in Stabilnost (Stability) 2008 strategic and command war games, which also featured launches of submarine - and land-based missiles.

2012 Oct. 19: Russian Tu-160 jet aircraft and Tu-95MS propeller bomber flying from an air force base near Engels launched four cruise missiles toward the Pemboy impact site.

2013 Oct. 5: Ships and submarines of the Russian Northern fleet fired eight cruise missiles at targets in the middle of the Barents Sea from 60 to 400 kilometers away. They included two Granit missiles launched from submerged Voronezh and Orel nuclear submarines. Another Granit missile was fired from the Peter the Great cruiser. During the same exercise, a strike force of the Russian navy launched four anti-ship missiles, including two Moskit missiles fired from the Admiral Ushakov battleship. Small missile-carrying Aisberg and Rassvet ships fired single Malakhit missiles each. Finally, a coastal defense deployed at the Rybachiy Peninsula fired a Redut tactical missile at a sea-based target, a semi-official Interfax news agency reported.

2014 May 8: During a major "command and control exercise" of the Russian armed forces, featuring multiple missile launches, a Tu-95 strategic bomber launched six cruise missiles , believed to be Kh-55. The official Russian sources only said that missiles were heading toward targets within the Western Military District. A 3M14 sea-based cruise missile was apparently also launched.

2015: Russia used cruise missiles based on ships deployed in the Caspian Sea to hit targets in Syria during its campaign to prop-up government forces in the country's civil war. On October 30, the Tu-160 aircraft fired cruise missiles at targets in Komi Republic and on the Kamchatka Peninsula, while the Velikiy Ustyug cater launched a Kalibr cruise missile during a routine exercises of the Russian armed forces.

2021 September: The Varyag cruiser and the Omsk nuclear submarine fire Vulkan and Granit cruise missiles destroying a target located 450 kilometers away in the Pacific Ocean. The impact was confirmed with aircraft and drones of the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

2021 July: The Admiral Gorshkov ship fired a hypersonic Tsirkon anti-ship missile hitting a target more than 350 kilometers away, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

2021 October: Two Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles were launched from Russian submarine. One missile was launched from a submerged Severodvinsk submarine from a depth of 40 meters in tge Barents Sea.

2021 November: The Admiral Gorshkov fregate fired a hypersonic Tsirkon anti-ship missile hitting a target in the White Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

2022 Feb. 19: A submarine launches a Kalibr cruise missile as part of strategic forces exercise coinciding with mass deployment of Russian forces around Ukraine. A Tsirkon missile was also reported as launched.

2022 May 28: An Admiral Gorshkov frigat deployed in the Barents Sea fires a Tsirkon missile toward a test target in the White Sea. The test flight covering 1,000 kilometers is declared a success. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Admiral Gorshkov launched 10 Tsirkon missiles in 2022 and additional two were launched from Project 885 Severodvinsk submarine. The latest test officially completed testing of the Tsirkon missile on surface ships. Ground-based mobile launchers of the Tsirkon missile were also reported capable of firing Onyx missiles as well.

Overview of Russian cruise missiles (listed alphabetically):

This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak

Last update: July 9, 2024

All rights reserved

The cruise missile designated 212 was developed at RNII research institute in Moscow. It flew twice in 1939. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak

Test firing of Chelomei's "pulsating" engine, later employed in cruise missile technology. Credit: NPO Mash

At the end of World War II, Soviet engineers evaluated German V-1 winged missile. Copyright © 2001 Anatoly Zak

A still from a video shows Soviet "duplicate" of the German V-1 missile , seconds after separation from its carrier aircraft, during trials in the USSR. Credit: NPO Mash

Scale models of Chelomei's pulsating engine (bottom), and 10Kh cruise missile (top). Copyright © 2002 Anatoly Zak

The 10KhN missile sitting on the launch ramp. Credit: NPO Mash

A scale model of the twin-engine 16Kh cruise missile. Copyright © 2002 Anatoly Zak

The 16Kh missile. Credit: NPO Mash

The 16Kh missile photographed seconds after separation from the carrier aircraft. Credit: NPO Mash

Burya intercontinental cruise missile, the largest winged rocket vehicle built in the USSR prior to the Buran orbiter. Credit: Lavochkin

The P-5 submarine-based cruise missile equipped with self-guided warhead. The missile was designed to strike sea-based targets. Copyright © 2001 by Anatoly Zak

The P-6 cruise missile. Copyright © 2002 Anatoly Zak

Launch of the P-type cruise missile from a submarine. Credit: NPO Mash

Pairs of P-15 cruise missiles were carried onboard a dozen of Soviet Navy speed boats deployed in Cuba. Copyright © 2008 Anatoly Zak

The P-35 cruise missile, developed in 1960s for coastal defenses within Redut complex. Copyright © 2002 Anatoly Zak

The Ametist missile. Copyright © 2002 Anatoly Zak

A salvo launch of cruise missiles from a submerged submarine. Credit: NPO Mash

A torpedo-carrying 85 RU (aka RU-85) anti-submarine missile. Copyright © 2005 Anatoly Zak

The Yakhont missile, shown with solid-fuel launching-accelerator stage attached to its front end. Credit: NPO Mash

A cruise missile launched from a Tu-95MS bomber during an exercise on Oct. 30, 2013.

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Tupolev Tu-133 was a project for an intercontinental cruise missile carried out by the OKB-156 by Andrej Nikolaevic Tupolev starting from 1957 . Also known by the names of Tu-123, or D, or SD, it remained entirely on paper, due to the cancellation of the program before the start of the flight tests.

During the work on the aircraft "121" was prepared a project for its modernization with a view to significantly increasing its flight range. The project received an aircraft designation "133" ("SD") for the design bureau. The project was represented by the original unmanned aircraft "121" with an increased fuel reserve in the inner tanks and additional drop-out overhead fuel tanks. These measures allowed to increase the estimated flight range up to 5000-6000 km.

The development of the Tu-133 was initiated by the Tupolev organization in 1957, starting from Tupolev Tu-121, of which in practice it constituted the intercontinental variant. Also different components were the same as 121, starting from the warhead (a type 205 weighing 3,000 kg). OKB-156 project carried out the strategic droneless projectile-133 projectile (product SD), which became the development of the cruise missile project "121" with minimal structural improvements. The increased fuel reserve in the inland and outboard fuel tanks, according to calculations, made it possible to have an intercontinental flight range.

Its range should have been in the order of 6,000 km (although other sources indicate values between 5,000 and 9,000). This increase, in the intentions of the designers, should have been obtained thanks to the use of Kuznetsov NK-6 turbojets for the second stage cruise phase, while the first one would have always been propelled by a solid propellant rocket. Additional fuel tanks were provided, both external and internal. The estimated maximum speed was around 2 800 km/h, with a maximum operating altitude of 25 000 m. The margin of error (CEP) would have been 10 km. The intended guidance system was the same astroinerial developed by the NII-1 MAP for the Tu-121.

However, the development of this missile was interrupted in 1960, due to the preference given to intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were much less vulnerable. It is easy to understand supporters and opponents of long-range cruise missiles. Some said that Tu-121 cruise missiles are cheaper, easier to operate and more mobile than intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of 4000 km, that even the presence of several TU-121 regiments would have made possible opponents to spend several times greater funds for creating high-altitude air defense weapons. Others said that it was necessary to concentrate all means on the creation of intercontinental ballistic missiles, since those are invulnerable in flight. Both those and others are right in their own way.

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• Secret (Unbuilt) Projects
• Secret Postwar Aircraft Projects

Tupolev "121", "123", "139", "141" UAVs

• Thread starter borovik
• Start date 30 July 2007

ACCESS: Top Secret

• 30 July 2007

Another "birds" of Tupolev's In change from "Voron"-"Crow" of analogue D-21 other "birdies" were really designed OKB Tupolev's and differed the overland start. "121" (Tu-121, plane "S") Length: 24,77m Wing Span: 8,4m Height: 4,614m Launch weight: 35000kg Speed: 2775km/h Range: 3880km Altitude: 19900-24100m "123" (Tu-123, DBR-1,"Yastreb"-"Hawk" Length: 27,825m Wing Span: 8,414m Height: 4,781m Launch weight with solid propellant motor: 35610kg Speed: 2700km/h Range: 3,680km Altitude: 19000-22800m "139" (Tu-139, DBR-2, "Yastreb-2") "141" (Tu-141, VR-2,"Strizh"-"Swift" Length: 14,33m Wing Span: 3,875m Height: 2,435m Wing area:10 sq m Launch weight: 5370kg Speed: 1100km/h Range: 1000km Altitude: 50-6000m  

Attachments

ACCESS: USAP

• 11 November 2008

Found an ejection seat K26, developed by aircraft development plant №981 (now NPP Zvezda) for manned version of Tupolev '123' - 'Aircraft 141' aka '123P' aka Yasterb-P (pilotiruemy = manned) http://www.zvezda-npp.ru/histor.html  

manned version of Tupolev '123' Click to expand...

Don't laugh, don't cry, don't even curse, but.....

• 18 January 2017

What is this? Manned Tu-123? What is Tu-130? http://www.xliby.ru/istorija/bitva_za_zvezdy_2_kosmicheskoe_protivostojanie_chast_i/p4.php "Based on the plane "Tupolev Tu-123" has prepared several interesting projects. Among them is a drone target camolet TU-123 m ("Hawk"), completely gross aircraft TU-139 ("Hawk" 2), project aircraft Tupolev Tu-123 "with nuclear power plant, a project plane" Tupolev Tu-123 "with thermally reactive air engines, designed for speed in 3 or 4 Mach. Been and manned version of the razvedchika return TU-123P "(" product of 141 "," Hawk-p "). However, for us, is the most interesting project using aircraft TU-123 "as the last stage of the missile system planning shock" tr-130." http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2209.0;attach=60838  

Tu-123 pictures. http://www.airbase.ru/sb/russia/tupolev/123/index-t.htm https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D1%83-123 "The new aircraft was designated I123K (TU-123) or the DBR-1 (remote unmanned Scout). Factory tests were completed in September 1961 a year, and Government — in December 1963 onwards. By the Decree of the USSR Council of Ministers N 444-178 from long-range unmanned System May 23, 1964 photo and ELINT DBR-1 Hawk was adopted by the AIR FORCE. Series production was carried out at the plant in Voronezh, no. 64, from 1964 to 1972, a total of 52 products were manufactured. The system was in service with the AIR FORCE reconnaissance units stationed in western border military districts, until the year 1979. Theoretically, intelligence officers can perform tasks across Central and Western Europe, although real flying DRONES over the territory has not been fulfilled. However, launches these UAVS during the exercises have repeatedly confirmed high reliability and the claimed performance characteristics. But after adopting the MiG-25R reconnaissance complexes DBR-1 gradually began to take off."  

ACCESS: Secret

• 11 March 2022

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Mystery drone from Ukraine war crashes in Croatia

• 12 March 2022

Yeah given the NATO assets deployed and high alert it does seem damning that this thing bumbled about European airspace until it ran out of fuel and no-one noticed. Thankfully it didn't cause more damage or cause a mid-air collision with civilian traffic.  

• 15 March 2022

Croatia Says Mysterious Crashed Tu-141 Drone Tied To The Ukraine Conflict Carried A Bomb

Stealthflanker.

• 17 March 2022

141 airframe has LO features like RAM structures implemented from the beginning back then, so your calculations for RCS and detection range at least very basic  

flateric said: 141 airframe has LO features like RAM structures implemented from the beginning back then, so your calculations for RCS and detection range at least very basic Click to expand...

I really should change my personal text

• 5 December 2022

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• 6 December 2022

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• 4 September 2023

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698435710196351151 View: https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1698435710196351151 https://twitter.com/x/status/1698568813891977413 View: https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1698568813891977413  

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Russian missile barrage tests Ukraine's new F-16 fighter defence

R ussians have conducted massive airstrikes on Ukraine in recent days, using their entire available arsenal. One of the key means of attack, aside from ballistic missiles, was cruise missiles, which the freshly delivered F-16 aircraft were also supposed to counter. Here’s how they performed.

The Russians launched hundreds of objects at Kyiv and other locations, comprising ballistic missiles Iskander-M , cruise missiles Ch-101 launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers, and 3M14 Kalibr missiles fired from surface or underwater units, as well as numerous Shahed drones.

The Shahed drones served to complicate Ukrainian air defenses in dealing with the more difficult targets and were also used for mapping Ukrainian activities.

The real threat was the aforementioned cruise missiles. Aside from a more precise guidance system with a declared accuracy of about 20 feet (in wartime production, it will be worse), they have a much stronger warhead. For example, the standard Ch-101 has an approximately 880-pound high-explosive or penetrating warhead, but recently an improved model with an additional cluster warhead has appeared.

Missiles from the Ch-101 family can fly at low altitudes, often relying on terrain depressions such as canyons or riverbeds. Combined with a design incorporating stealth features, this significantly hinders efforts to hunt them using ground-based air defenses. To cover the entire border, Ukrainians must deploy radars every 25 miles due to the so-called radar horizon, which is practically unfeasible.

This is unfeasible, so the best approach is to use aircraft capable of supervising vast areas. Currently, the Ukrainian Air Force has a handful of MiG-29s and Su-27s . However, these are less effective as cruise missile hunters than the newly received F-16s.

The F-16s have significantly better radar systems for detecting difficult targets flying at low altitudes. They also have targeting pods adapted for detecting and tracking such objects. Subsequently, cruise missiles or drones are destroyed with AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles or even with the onboard six-barrel M61A1 20mm caliber gun.

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