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| Specifications of the Kh-101 Air Cruise Missile, Russia's Mainstay Weapon |
Moscow - Russia is one of the countries known for having the strongest military arsenal . One of them is the Kh-101 radar avoidance cruise missile. The Kh-101 is a series of conventional air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) developed and used by the Russian Military.
A stealth missile, the Kh-101 is designed to defeat air defense systems by flying at low altitudes, to avoid radar systems. The Kh-101 was developed as a long-range cruise missile to replace the aging Kh-55 ALCM. It travels on a low-altitude flight path under an infrared system and uses a radar-absorbing composite material that makes the missile difficult to detect.
The Kh-101 ALCM missile has a length of 7.45 m and a diameter of 0.51 m. The missile weighs 2300-2400 kg and has the capability of boostless firepower in the initial firing system. The Kh-101 missile uses a TRDD-50A turbofan engine which is capable of providing a cruising speed of Mach 0.58 and a maximum speed of Mach 0.78.
The range of the Kh-101 is very far, which can reach 4,500 km. With that range, the Kh-101 has been considered the world's longest-range cruise missile. This range certainly exceeds all products of the same type. The missiles are carried by the Russian Tu-160 'Blackjack', Tu-95MS16 'Bear-H', Tu-22M3/5 'Backfire C' and the Su-27IB (Su-32) 'Flanker' strategic bomber. Each of them carries up to six missiles on board.
The Kh-101 missile carries a conventional warhead weighing 450 kg and can be equipped with a high-yield warhead or cluster/submunition. For center navigation, it uses an electro-optical correction system that uses terrain maps stored in the missile's onboard computer to perform photographic terrain comparison updates, as well as GLONASS and Russian inertial satellite navigation.
The Kh 101 missile has been equipped with an electro-optical system for correcting flight trajectories and also equipped with a TV guidance system for terminal guidance. The Kh-101 missile first made its debut when it was used during military action in Syria, namely in 2015-2017. Then in 2022, this missile is often used by the Russian military to attack defenses from Ukraine.
With the various advantages it has, the price set is of course very expensive. Prices are often more expensive when compared to similar products from the United States. Currently it has been estimated that the unit price of the Russian Kh-101 missile reaches USD 13 million or the equivalent of Rp. 201 billion. The price is certainly very fantastic for developing countries.