Kh-59

The initial design was based on the Raduga Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter'), but it had to be abandoned because the missile speed was too high for visual target acquisition. Raduga OKB developed the Kh-59 in the 1970s as a longer ranged version of the Kh-25 (AS-10 'Karen'), as a precision stand-off weapon for the Su-24M and late-model MiG-27's. The electro-optical sensors for this and other weapons such as the Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge') and KAB-500KR bombs were developed by S. A. Zverev NPO in Krasnogorsk. Details of the Kh-59M were first revealed in the early 1990s. ==Design==

The basic Kh-59 model is released from the carrier plane, after which the first stage fires, a solid fuel accelerator in the tail. Now the stabilizers located in the front of the missile unfold, with wings and rudder in the rear. Driven by the second stage cruise rocket engine, the Kh-59 cruises at an altitude of about 7 metres above water or above ground with the help of a radar altimeter. It can be launched at speeds of at altitudes of and has a CEP of . The 36MT turbofan engine developed for the Kh-59M class of missiles is manufactured by NPO Saturn of Russia. Target coordinates are fed into the missile before launch, and the initial flight phase is conducted under inertial guidance. At a distance of from the target the television guidance system is activated. An operator aboard the aircraft visually identifies the target and locks the missile onto it. ==Operational history==

Although the original Kh-59 could be carried by the MiG-27, Su-17M3, Su-22M4, Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-30 family if they carried an APK-9 datalink pod, it was only fielded on the Su-24M in Russian service. The Kh-59MK2 has been test-fired by a Su-57 stealth fighter, during its 2018 Syrian deployment. On 4 April 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, photographic evidence was published on Telegram channels that a Kh-59M missile was launched by the Russian Aerospace Forces at a grain silo near Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The missile was captured on CCTV as it was traveling to the target area. On 16 August 2022, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed over Social Media that Kh-59 missiles were used to strike an airbase in the Zhytomyr Oblast, the missiles being fired towards the Belarusian border from what was believed to be Su-34 jets. ==Variants==

Kh-59 model • Kh-59 (AS-13 'Kingbolt') – original version with dual solid-fuel rocket engines. First shown in 1991; exported as Kh-59 or Kh-59E. • Kh-59MK2 (AS-22) –low observable land attack variant of Kh-59MK (fire-and-forget), First unveiled at MAKS 2015. • Kh-59M2 – Kh-59M/Kh-59MK with new TV/IIR seekers, reported in 2004. Proposed development options for the Kh-59M/ME have included alternative payloads (including cluster munitions) but their current development status is unclear. Kh-69 model ==Operators==

Current operators ; • Algerian Air Force ; • People's Liberation Army Air Force ; ; • Royal Malaysian Air Force ; • Russian Aerospace Forces ;: • Syrian Air Force ; • Venezuelan Air Force ; • Vietnam People's Air Force Former operators ; • Soviet Air Forces ==See also==