The Russian Aerospace Forces are still using 47-year-old rockets in their wild-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kh-31 is a Russian surface-to-air missile carried on aircraft such as the Su-35 and Su-34. The anti-aircraft radiation configuration of this missile is called Kh-31P.
The rocket has a regular shape, with cross-shaped wings and control surfaces made of titanium. The two-stage propulsion is remarkable. On launch, a solid-fuel booster in the tail accelerated the rocket to Mach 1.8 and the engine was removed. Then the four air intakes opened and, as in the Franco-German ANS/ANF, the empty rocket pod became the combustion chamber of the kerosene-fuelled jet, taking it beyond Mach 4.
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A recent video clip by the Russian military shows its newest Su-35 fighter jet, armed with two aging Kh-31P surface-to-air missiles, taking part in a “military operation” in Ukraine.
In addition, a Russian Su-34 attack aircraft with a similar missile was previously discovered in Belarus and debris of KH-31P was found in Ukraine.
Several missiles of this type, designed to destroy hostile radars, were also found in Kyiv.
#Ukraine, #Kyiv: What appear to be the remains of a Russian-made Kh-31 surface-to-air missile that landed in the Holosiyiv district.
The exact variant is still unclear, but it is likely to be positioned as the Kh-31P anti-radiation missile.
📷 Iryna Kyporenko pic.twitter.com/AkhMjhK0B2
– Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) February 24, 2022
For the past 10 years, the Russian military industry has been determined to find a replacement for the aging Kh-31 missiles and there are plans to adopt hypersonic attack missiles in place of the Soviet ones. But in reality, all plans are still on paper, and the war with Ukraine and Russian military aviation, which entered with previous-generation missiles, could not complete the mission.
Most missiles only break up on landing after running out of energy or being shot down by the Ukrainian Air Defense System.
There’s a Ukrainian military statement here about shooting down a Kh-31. Most likely it didn’t find a working Ukrainian radar or failed to do so, so it just broke up on landing after running out of power. https://t.co/qv7PrjhWUo
– Steve Trimble (@TheDEWLine) March 17, 2022
