Kh-45 Explained

Kh-45 "Lightning"
Type:	Air-to-surface missile Anti-ship missile
Origin:	Soviet Union
Is Ranged:	Yes
Is Explosive:	Yes
Is Artillery:	Yes
Is Vehicle:	Yes
Is Missile:	Yes
Used By:	Never entered service
Variants:	See Variants

The Kh-45 Molnija "Lightning" was a Soviet hypersonic anti-ship air-to-surface missile project. It was developed from 1971 as the main armament for the ICD "Raduga"'s T-4 missile carrier bomber. The designers were A. Y. Bereznyak, G. K. Samokhvalov and V. A. Larionov.^[1]

History

The Kh-45 was intended to be carried on the Tu-160, but the integration was cancelled in 1976–77. The Kh-45 was cancelled and replaced by a nuclear version of the Kh-55 missile.^[2]

Basic tactical and technical characteristics

The Kh-45 weighed 4,500 kg and was 10.8m long.^[3]

See also

• Kh-90

References

1. Web site: Kh-45.
2. Web site: Kh-45 .
3. Piotr Butowski (February 2016) "‘Blackjack’ Attack." Combat Aircraft Magazine.

External links

• X-45 Lightning
• X-45. Description of the design. TTX. Scheme.