Hermes (missile)

Hermes is a family of modularly designed guided missiles developed in Russia by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, meant to be launched from aircraft, ground vehicles or ships. Development began in the 1990s, and the design closely resembles the 57E6 missile used by the Pantsir system, of which it is probably a derivative. The air-launched Hermes-A variant was trialled in 2003, and series production was meant to start in 2011 or 2012 but did not happen as development stopped for several years. The missile uses a multistage rocket with a high-powered booster in either 170 or 210 millimetre diameter, inertial or radio-command guidance in the cruise phase and semi-active laser guidance at the end, with radar and infrared homing also discussed. It is designed to engage armoured vehicles, fortifications, small naval surface targets, artillery positions and slow-flying air targets, at up to 100 kilometres with the larger booster. Variants include Hermes-A for helicopters such as the Ka-52, Hermes-K for ships and Hermes-S on a Kamaz truck chassis. Live tests in Syria were announced in 2016, though nothing indicates they took place.