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Russia Had the Kh-15 Missiles for Tu-22M3 Aircraft, But They "Disappeared" Somewhere

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The Kh-15 / Illustrative photo from open sources
The Kh-15 / Illustrative photo from open sources

But it is quite likely that these Soviet missiles can be reincarnated in the form of another russian "wunderwaffe"

One of the challenges that the war against russians has shown is that the Kremlin managed to reanimate part of its missile arsenal from the Soviet legacy, and to find a "hybrid" format for some of these missiles.

To be more specific, russians managed to return to service several hundred of their Soviet-made Kh-22 missiles, which were formally decommissioned in the early 2010s. And at the same time, to convert some of these same Kh-22 into a more advanced product called the Kh-32 index. So, russians are increasingly using Kh-55SM missiles with a simulated nuclear warhead, and the logic of that is still difficult to explain, because several versions are likely at once: for example, both psychological pressure and "exhaustion" of Ukraine's air defense.

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Russia Had the Kh-15 Missiles for Tu-22M3 Aircraft, But They
The Kh-15 / Illustrative photo from open sources

Formally, until the beginning of the 2010s, russians had another Soviet-made Tu-22M3 bomber missile in service, which in itself could also be dangerous for Ukraine. But after the beginning of the 2010s, the "traces" of such missiles have been lost. Here we are talking about the Soviet Kh-15 aeroballistic missiles, the serial production of which started in 1980, and one of these missiles could even be seen as an exhibit of the museum of Ukraine's Air Force in Vinnytsia.

The following specs of the Kh-15 missiles are taken from open sources: flight speed up to 5000 km/h, firing range up to 300 km, launch mass is 1100 kg, warhead mass is 150 kg, "special warhead" power is up to 350 kilotons, solid fuel, the inertial guidance system, without the possibility of correction.

Russia Had the Kh-15 Missiles for Tu-22M3 Aircraft, But They
Internal structure of the Kh-15 missile / Illustrative image from open sources

We can also find mentions that the Soviet Union managed to integrate the Kh-15 missiles into the armament of Tu-22M3 aircraft. Also, that these same missiles were planned to be integrated into the armament of the Tu-160, but did manage to succeed due to the collapse of the Soviet empire itself.

In open sources we cannot find an indication of exactly how many Kh-15 missiles the USSR had heen produced, how many of these missiles could be in Ukraine, and how many of them russia "inherited".

Russia Had the Kh-15 Missiles for Tu-22M3 Aircraft, But They
The Kh-15 missile / Illustrative photo from open sources

Russians also claim that they supposedly utilized these missiles by intensive firing of Kh-15s from Tu-22M3s during "intensive combat training." Especially since the solid fuel on such rockets seems to have already started to decompose as of the beginning of the 2010s. But there is no indication of how many Kh-15s were shot down in this way either.

Russia Had the Kh-15 Missiles for Tu-22M3 Aircraft, But They
The Kh-15 missile / Illustrative photo from open sources
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