Russian missile design bureau NPO Mashinostroenia has completed development and testing of the Yakhont ramjet-powered long-range anti-ship missile, with the bureau actively pursuing export opportunities for the weapon.

The Yakhont, which is also known as the Onix, has been in development for more than a decade and is intended to be used on the Severodvinsk class of submarine, as well as on surface ships.

The first of the Severodvinsk- class of submarines, however, will not enter service until the middle of the next decade.

The Yakhont may also have been intended to be deployed on late-build Sovremenny-class destroyers, but the prolonged deve- lopment period, together with an early end to Sovremenny production, appears to have thwarted this ambition. The missile is probably intended to replace the NPO Mashinostroenia SS-N-19 Shipwreck ramjet-powered anti-ship missile.

The Severodvinsk is also earmarked to carry the Novator Alfa anti-ship missile, which is sometimes referred to as the Biryuza or Club. Development of the Alfa lags behind that of the Yakhont, although this cruise missile project started around 1985, say Russian officials. The slew-wing Alfa is a further development of the Novator SS-N-21Sampson.

The missile uses a two-stage design, with separation of the solid-propellant second stage occurring at about 20km (10nm) from the target.

The Yakhont has been test-fired on numerous occasions, with the Alfa also having undergone a limited number of launches.

While the Yakhont would be vertically launched from the Severodvinsk, the Alfa is launched through standard diameter torpedo tubes. The latter is also an integral element of the Project 1650 Amur-class submarines and could be retrofitted to late-model Kilo- class boats.

The Yakhont has a range of up to 300km, says the design bureau, and is fitted with a Granit dual-mode radar seeker. According to Granit, the Yakhont can use its seeker in the passive mode, homing in on the radar emissions of its target. If the missile fails to detect its target using the passive seeker, then it would shift to the active mode. The latter is claimed to have an acquisition range of up to 80km.

Source: Flight International