Kh-29 (Russian: X-29), the Russian army began to develop a large caliber X-29 missile with laser and television guidance system. The missile has 317 kg of powerful armor-piercing explosive warhead. At supersonic speed, it can penetrate one-meter-thick reinforced concrete, three meters thick mounds. During the strike test on the airfield runway, the X-29 left a crater with 15 meters in diameter and 6 meters deep. But it can also be used to attack ships weighing up to 10,000 tons, harden aircraft bunkers and concrete runways. The homing warhead will automatically "remember" and lock on to the target, so that the aircraft can fire the missile at a distance of 10-20 kilometers and then safely turn away. The X-29T missile is a high-precision missile with an error range of less than 2 meters. The loading tools for the X-29 missiles are the S-35C, S-34, S-24M 2, S-25s and S-35 multi-function fighters. The only drawback of the missile is that the target needs to be visually confirmed before launching, so the aiming accuracy of the X-29T is affected in bad weather or cloudy conditions.
X-29 Missile Variants
Kh-29L (Izdeliye 63, 'Kedge-A')[10] uses a semi-active laser seeker and has a range of 8–10 km.
Kh-29ML is an upgraded version of the Kh-29L.
Kh-29T (Izdeliye 64, 'Kedge-B')[10] is the TV-guided version, which is fitted with automatic optical homing to a distinguishable object indicated by the pilot.
Kh-29TE is a long-range (30 km) development of the Kh-29T. The minimum range is 3 km; launch altitude is 200–10,000 m.
Kh-29MP is a variant that uses active radar homing, making it a fire-and-forget weapon. It has a 250 kg warhead and a 12 km range.
Kh-29D is the fourth variant of the Kh-29TE which uses imaging infrared guidance.
| Specifications |
| Mass |
Kh-29L :660 kg (1,460 lb)
Kh-29T :685 kg (1,510 lb)
Kh-29TE :690 kg (1,520 lb) |
| Length |
Kh-29L/T :390 cm (12 ft 10 in)
Kh-29TE :387.5 cm (12 ft 9 in) |
| Diameter |
38.0 cm (15.0 in) |
| Wingspan |
110 cm (43 in) |
| Warhead |
HE armour-piercing |
| Warhead weight |
320 kg (705 lb) |
Detonation
mechanism |
Impact |
|
|
| Engine |
Fixed thrust solid fuel rocket |
Operational
range |
Kh-29L :10 km (5.4 nmi)
Kh-29T :12 km (6.5 nmi)
Kh-29TE :30 km (16 nmi) |
| Maximum speed |
2,200 km/h (1,400 mph)
Kh-29ML: 900–1,260 km/h (560–780 mph) |
Guidance
system |
Kh-29L: semi-active laser guidance
Kh-29T/TE : passive homing TV guidance
Kh-29D : infrared homing guidance (IIR)
Kh-29MP : active radar homing |
Launch
platform |
Kh-29L&T: MiG-27K, MiG-29M,
Su-22 ,Su-27UB, Su-30MK, Su-39
,
Kh-29L only: Su-25
Kh-29T only: Su-35
Also: Mirage F1E, Su-17/22, Su-24, Su-33, Su-34, Su-37 |
