According to publicly available data, development of the Kh-101 cruise missile began in the mid-1980s. It is known that this cruise missile was finally adopted in 2012. Thus, the development of this missile took more than 20 years.
This fact is relevant in light of russia's recent announcement that it is developing a new type of cruise missile — reportedly an analog of the JASSM — intended for use with the Su-57 fighter.
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At the end of April this year, russian propaganda disseminated footage of a visit to the Kapustin Yar training ground by Dmitry Medvedev, who currently holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the russian Security Council.
The footage showed a cruise missile that looks like Kh-101. Subsequently, some russian propagandists claimed that this new missile was intended for use with the Su-57 aircraft. It is also stated that the missile is intended to fill the same operational niche as the American AGM-158 JASSM. In other words, it is a long-range cruise missile designed to be launched from tactical aircraft.
Against this backdrop, the question arises as to how quickly russians will be able to achieve operational readiness for the combat use of this JASSM analog with the Su-57. It will not be possible to find an unambiguous answer immediately.
On the one hand, the example of the Kh-101 clearly demonstrates that creating an air-launched cruise missile in a short time is not feasible, even considering the specifics of the russian federation. Regarding this missile, it is stated that development began in 1984, the first tests were conducted in 1999, and it was only adopted in 2012.
On the other hand, this missile bears a strong visual resemblance to the sketches released for the Kh-50 project, or Izdeliye 715, the first reports of which surfaced in 2017. At the time, it was stated that the russian military industry had been working on such a missile since the 1990s, and that it was supposed to be a smaller version of the Kh-101.
There were no further reports on the implementation of the Kh-50 missile. Instead, there have been reports of a mysterious russian missile designated Izdeliye 715, which was showcased in 2023 and 2024. As for this missile, it remains a subject of speculation.
To conclude, it is equally likely that the russian JASSM analog for the Su-57, displayed at the Kapustin Yar training ground, could be in the early stages of development or near adoption. Therefore, it is important to monitor for further signals on this topic that the russians may disseminate through their channels.
Earlier Defense Express reported that russia had planned to launch an IFF system for drones into serial production in 2023, but Rostec seems to have forgotten about it.
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