Russian fifth generation Su-57 fighter armed with "Supersonic Death". This is how military pilots call Kh-31 missiles, which are practically invulnerable to enemy antiaircraft fire due to high speed and counter-attack systems. According to experts, as a result, the newest aircraft will be able to effectively destroy enemy ships and air defense (anti-aircraft), reported by Izvestia.
The work on the integration of the Kh-31 into the armament of the Su-57 fighter is already underway. The military expects to complete them before the end of this year, reported at the headquarters of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The 700-kilogram rocket is attached to both the external suspension unit and to a special compartment inside its fuselage. At the beginning of this year, mass-dimensional models of products passed a full cycle of flight tests in the T-50 airplane (pre-series version of the Su-57). After that, the suspension components were modified, some elements of the design and onboard rocket systems were adapted.
The Kh-31 (NATO’s reporting name AS-17 'Krypton) is supersonic anti-ship air-to-surface missile. It is capable of Mach 3.5 and was the first supersonic anti-ship missile that could be launched by tactical aircraft.
Currently there are four alterations of high-sped air-launched guided missiles of the Kh-31 type:
- Anti-radar Kh-31P and Kh-31PD
- Anti-ship Kh-31A and Kh-31AD
Kh-31PD was designed to hit air defense systems’ radars. Its range has been increased to 250 kilometers and the mass of the warhead, to 110 kilograms.
The anti-ship Kh-31AD, as its designers say, by far outperforms its predecessors in terms of combat effectiveness and is in no way inferior to the latest foreign counterparts. Its task is to destroy surface and amphibious surface ships and transport ships operating as part of task forces or sailing on their own. In contrast to its prototype (Kh-31A) the yield of the warhead is 15% higher and the range (120-160), twice greater.
The early X-31AD missiles were adapted for use from the Sukhoi-30/35 and MiG-29K / 35.
