What is known about the use of X-32 missiles during a special operation in Ukraine Among the missiles used by the Russian Aerospace Forces to destroy military facilities in Ukraine, new X-32s were noted.
According to media reports, none of these missiles were shot down by enemy air defenses. The launches were carried out from an aerial platform - Tu-22M3 bombers from a long range, and the speed of this missile does not prevent its attack by any of the existing Western anti-aircraft systems. "Newspaper.Ru" understood the features of the new rocket and its use during its own.
During a special operation in Ukraine, Russian long-range bombers are delivering precision strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with new X-32 cruise missiles, which are sometimes called "aircraft carrier killers," RIA Novosti reports, citing an informed source.
Kiev then claimed that the Russian Aerospace Forces used long-range anti-ship air-launched missiles X-22 "Storm", according to the NATO classification AS-4 Kitchen ("Kitchen"). In general, it is possible to confuse these two types of missiles due to external similarity, but the X-32 has much greater capabilities.
The X-32 air-to-ground missile (known as product 9-A-2362), was adopted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2016, and is an exact copy of the X-22 missile, but this is only an external similarity. In 2010, it was included in the state defense order for the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber, a little later - for the Tu-22M3M. After a series of launches at the training ground, the Ministry of Defense ordered a batch of X-22s for their subsequent replacement with X-32s.
Plus, the X-32 has new digital electronic equipment, which includes an on-board digital computing system, an interference-proof active-passive radar station and its own electronic countermeasures systems. This missile is capable of attacking a target in a steep dive, which excludes its interception by missile defense means and makes it invisible to enemy radar.
"Despite the fact that the X-22 missile, as well as the subsequent X-32, are by definition anti-ship, they are universal missile systems capable of hitting both surface and ground targets with equal efficiency. With a warhead weight of 500 kg and high hit accuracy, these missiles cause maximum damage to the target being hit not by fragments or shock waves, but by a point high-explosive action capable of disabling both the ship and a small-sized protected target on land," he told the newspaper.En" military expert captain of the 1st rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin.
At the same time, the expert notes, uniformity is also characteristic of other newest Russian missile systems. In particular, "Calibres" can work for various purposes both at sea and on land, including mobile, says Dandykin.
"Hypersonic "Zircons", also presented as anti-ship missiles, are capable of targeting ground objects with a guaranteed effect of destruction. Plus, unlike the X-22, the carrier of which is the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber, a ground-based platform is also provided for the Zircons," says the interlocutor of the Gazeta.Ru».
The X-32 has a feature - it can rise after separation from the carrier aircraft to a height of up to 40 km and then dive vertically at the target, making it impossible for American ship-based missile defense systems to destroy it. The multi-frequency radar of this missile has increased resistance to all modern electronic warfare. The new missile has a record range of 1,000 km among all anti-ship missiles .
"The Iskander-M complex has become a real "hard worker" of the military special operation in Ukraine from the family of high-precision Russian missile weapons," he told the newspaper.En" military expert reserve Colonel Gennady Alekhine. - They are used most often, as can be seen from the videos of the Ministry of Defense, and, judging by the reports, Kalibr missiles launched from ships in the Black Sea are also used effectively. But the use of "Daggers" and missiles such as the X-32, can be heard much less often.
The price in the cost part of production, by the way, also matters here. Without detracting from the merits of Iskanders and Calibers, which are above all praise in all respects, the metered use of Daggers and X-32 is quite justified. Firstly, because of their recent entry into service, not so many such missiles have been produced, and secondly, they do not shoot at sparrows from a cannon. These also hit the squirrel in the eye."
Victor Sokirko
