At the Army-2021 forum, Russia showed the Product-305 missile, which should be armed with new attack helicopters. It has a round-the-clock thermal imaging homing head.
"Product-305" is one of the most" mysterious " developments of the Russian defense industry. For a long time, the appearance of the product was kept secret, and the data that appeared in the media were often contradictory.
Meanwhile, gradually photos of the rocket began to slip into the Network (for which, however, it was difficult to say anything specific), and the novelty was officially presented at the Army-2021 forum .
"Product 305"
Image source: Mikhail Zherdev
The "305E" has a mass of 105 kilograms, a length of 1945 millimeters and a body diameter of 200 millimeters. The product received a 25-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Thanks to the solid-fuel engine, the rocket can reach speeds of up to 250 meters per second. The controlled firing range is up to-14.5 kilometers. The flight altitude is from 100 to 600 meters.
"Product 305"
Image source: Mikhail Zherdev
The novelty has a combined guidance system. The use of inertial-satellite guidance is supposed to be used on the marching section, the product is aimed directly at the captured target using a thermal imaging GPS. The missile is accompanied by a radio channel and at the final point of guidance it can be re-aimed at the operator's command.
"Product 305"
Image source: Mikhail Zherdev
As far as we can tell, the normal mode is to launch at a target that is visible visually. In the case of shooting at an "invisible" object, a highly qualified operator is needed. The rocket is launched using APU-305 devices, which are designed for one or two missiles.
"Product 305"
Image source: Mikhail Zherdev
Earlier it was reported that the Mi-28NM attack helicopter will be able to take up to four Product-305 missiles. The weapon will allow the machine to more effectively destroy both manpower and strategic objects, such as enemy command posts.
©Mikhail Zherdev
Another carrier of the "Product-305" will be the upgraded Ka-52M helicopter. A few years ago, it became known that [...] a large batch of such machines would be delivered to the Aerospace Forces.
According to the sum of the indicators, the Mi-28NM and Ka-52M are the most powerful Russian attack helicopters (the ability to use the "Product-305" is an important, but not the only difference between them).
The basic versions of these machines first took to the sky back in the 80s. The above-mentioned fact makes us talk about the creation of a fundamentally new attack helicopter, especially since work in this direction is actively being carried out in the West.
Recall that in 2018, the proposed appearance of a promising Russian rotorcraft was presented, the layout of which vaguely resembles the Ka-52. It is assumed that the helicopter's flight speed will exceed 400 kilometers per hour.