RK-55
Encyclopedia
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
:SSC-X-4 'Slingshot'; GRAU
Grau
Grau is a German word meaning "gray" and a Catalan word meaning "grade". It may refer to:* BAP Almirante Grau , a De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy* Grau Käse, Tyrolean grey cheese...
:3K10) was a Soviet land-based cruise missile with a nuclear warhead. It was about to enter service in 1987 when such weapons were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and...
. A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson';GRAU:3M10), has apparently been converted to carry conventional warheads and continues in service to this day.
The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 'Kent') but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine and was designed by MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga
MKB Raduga is a Russian aerospace company, concerned with the production of various missile systems and related technologies. It is headquartered in Dubna in the Moscow Oblast...
. Both have formed the basis of post-Cold-War missiles, in particular the 3M-54 Klub
3M-54 Klub
The Russian 3M-54 Klub is a multi-role missile system developed by the Novator Design Bureau. Its NATO reporting name is SS-N-27. Both submarine and surface ship launched versions exist. The system is designed to accept various warheads, allowing its use against surface and subsurface naval...
(SS-N-27 'Sizzler') which has a supersonic approach phase.
Development
In the late 1960s, the "Ekho" study conducted by the GosNIIASGosNIIAS
FSUE State Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Systems or GosNIIAS for short is a Russian R&D enterprise, providing a scientific support of aviation weapons systems development. Founded by the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on 26 February 1946 from some of the Mikhail...
institute concluded that it would be more effective to deploy lots of small, subsonic cruise missiles than the much more expensive supersonic missiles then in favour. In 1971 Raduga began working on the air-launched Kh-55, which first flew in 1976. That same year, OKB-52 (Chelomei) was tasked with the development of a new missile to replace the P-70 Ametist (SS-N-7 'Starbright') and P-120 Malakhit (SS-N-9 'Siren'), and began work under the name P-1000 Vulkan ('Vulcan'). Later NPO Novator
NPO Novator
NPO Novator is a Russian company that designs long-range anti-aircraft missiles. It was established in 1947 as OKB-8 in Sverdlovsk , became independent in 1991, and then became part of the Almaz-Antey conglomerate...
would work on the submarine- and ground-launched versions;
Land-based trials began in July 1982, and the first submarine launch was from an Echo II
Echo class submarine
The Echo class submarines were nuclear cruise missile submarines of the Soviet Navy built during the 1960s. Their Soviet designation was Project 659 class for the first five vessels, and Project 675 for the following twenty-nine...
on 22 December 1983.
In 1993 Novator exhibited the 3M14/3M54 Klub
3M-54 Klub
The Russian 3M-54 Klub is a multi-role missile system developed by the Novator Design Bureau. Its NATO reporting name is SS-N-27. Both submarine and surface ship launched versions exist. The system is designed to accept various warheads, allowing its use against surface and subsurface naval...
(SS-N-27 'Sizzler'), which appears to be based on the RK-55. It is a two-stage design, which goes supersonic during its final approach to the target.
Design
Six RK-55 missiles are carried on an eight-wheeled transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) based on the MAZ 543 launcher of the R-17 (SS-1 'ScudScud
Scud is a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and exported widely to other countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name SS-1 Scud which was attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies...
B').
The S-10 is launched through 533 mm torpedo tubes.
Operational history
The sub-launched variant became operational in 1984 and was formally accepted into service by the Politburo on 18 December 1987. Fewer than 100 SS-N-21s had been deployed by the end of 1988. The new Akula class submarineAkula class submarine
Project 971 Щука-Б , is a nuclear-powered attack submarine first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986...
, launched in September 1986, was the first class to receive the new missile. It was later fitted to the Sierra I/II
Sierra class submarine
The Sierra I class or Project 945 nuclear submarine was the Soviet Union's successor class to the partly successful Project 705 Lira class submarine...
class and eight Victor III's
Victor class submarine
The Victor class is the NATO reporting name for a type of nuclear-powered submarine that was originally put into service by the Soviet Union around 1967. In the USSR, they were produced as Project 671. Victor-class subs featured a teardrop shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed...
and the new Yasen class submarines.
The Yankee Notch deployed in 1988 is a design of particular note, replacing the missile launchers on a ballistic submarine with tubes dedicated to large numbers of cruise missiles. They were probably nuclear-tipped RK-55's during the Cold War, and then converted to use conventional warheads for land attack after the START I
START I
START was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994...
treaty restricted sub-launched nuclear cruise missiles. The US Navy has done the same on a grander scale with the SSGN conversions of four Ohio class submarine
Ohio class submarine
The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines used by the United States Navy. The United States has 18 Ohio-class submarines:...
s. It has been suggested that RK-55's could in future be fitted to converted Delta class submarine
Delta class submarine
The Delta class is a class of submarines which formed the backbone of the Soviet and Russian strategic submarine fleet since its introduction in 1973...
s, or to surface ships, but these have not been confirmed.
The ground-launched variant was subject to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, it was ratified by the United States Senate on May 27, 1988 and...
signed in December 1987 and had been tested but not deployed by that time. 80 missiles had been destroyed by November 1990.
Variants
- RK-55 (SSC-X-4 'Slingshot') - ground-based version
- S-10 or RK-55 (SS-N-21 'Sampson') - submarine-launched version
Conventional unitary High Explosive (HE) warhead and submunition warhead versions of the RK-55 have probably been developed, to justify the continuing service of the submarines that carry them.
Similar weapons
- Raduga Kh-55Raduga Kh-55The Kh-55 is a Soviet/Russian air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga. It has a range of up to and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads...
- originally thought in the West to be an air-launched version of the RK-55, now has tactical versions such as the Kh-555 and the somewhat stealthy Kh-101. - UGM-109 Tomahawk - the Capsule Launch System allows Tomahawks to be fired from torpedo tubes or dedicated submarine launch tubes
- Ground Launched Cruise MissileGround Launched Cruise MissileThe Ground Launched Cruise Missile, or GLCM, was a ground-launched cruise missile developed by the United States Air Force in the last decade of the Cold War.-Overview:...
(BGM-109G Gryphon) - land-based Tomahawk with tactical nuclear warhead of 10-50 kt and 2000–2500 km range - Pershing 1B - 740 km range ballistic missile also in testing at the time of the INF Treaty