Kh-15

The Kh-15, designated AS-16 Kickback by NATO, is a Soviet short-range attack missile made by Raduga and described as analogous to the American AGM-69 SRAM. Its basic version, the Kh-15P (article 115), is an anti-radiation missile intended to help bombers break through air defenses. The Kh-15A anti-ship version, shown at Abu Dhabi in 1993 under the name Kh-15S, pairs an inertial navigation system for the first part of the flight with a millimetric-wave active radar seeker for the final stage. After launch the solid-fuel missile climbs to an altitude of about 40,000 metres, where its target-seeking radar switches on, and then dives on the target while accelerating to about Mach 5. Its control system is inertial and its engine is a dual-chamber solid-propellant motor. The wingless airframe has rotary controls and is built with extensive heat shielding, so heat-resistant materials and coatings were a major production challenge.