K-10S

{{Infobox weapon | name = Raduga K-10S/AS-2 Kipper | image = | image_size = 300 | type = anti-ship missile | origin = Soviet Union | is_missile = yes | service = 1961-1994 | used_by = | wars = Cold War | designer = MKB Raduga | design_date = 1955 | manufacturer = | unit_cost = | production_date = 1961 | number = | variants = P-40 | mass = {{cvt|4,533|kg|lb}} | length = {{cvt|9.75|m|in}} | diameter = {{cvt|1|m|in}} | filling = FK-10 HE<ref name="GSEC" /> or nuclear | filling_weight = {{cvt|1000|kg|lb}} | detonation = impact fuze | yield = 350 kilotons of TNT (1,460TJ) | engine = Lyulka AL-5, Tumansky RD-9FK (Mikulin M-9FK),<ref name="GSEC">{{cite web |title=K-10S (AS-2 Kipper) |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/as-2.htm |website=GlobalSecurity |access-date=9 August 2023}}</ref><ref name="FAS" /> | engine_power = | pw_ratio = | fuel_capacity = | vehicle_range = {{cvt|260-350|km|mi nmi}} | speed = Mach 1.7 at service ceiling, Mach 1.2 at low altitude | guidance = inertial with terminal active radar homing | wingspan = {{cvt|4.18|m|in}} | ceiling = {{cvt|12|km|ft}} | accuracy = CEP {{cvt|150|ft|m}}<ref name="FAS">{{cite web| url = https://nuke.fas.org/guide/russia/bomber/as-2.htm| title = AS-2 Russian and Soviet Nuclear Forces|website = Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Resources|access-date = 9 August 2023}}</ref> | launch_platform = Tu-16K-10 ''Badger C'' | transport =  | ref = }} {{Short description|Early Soviet anti-ship missile}} The '''Raduga K-10S''' (NATO reporting name: AS-2 Kipper) was a Soviet supersonic anti-ship missile that was usually nuclear-armed, designed by MKB Raduga. Its development began in 1955, and it entered service with the Soviet armed forces in 1961. The Kipper missile was a very large one, approximately the size of a small jet fighter, because of the rather primitive state of anti-ship missile technology in the 1950s and 1960s. This missile was never used in combat anywhere.

The AS-2's dedicated launch platform, the Tu-16K-10 ''Badger C'', could carry a single AS-2, semi-recessed in the bomb bay.<ref name="FAS" /> The Kipper's long range enabled it to be launched, hypothetically, from beyond the range of any shipboard surface-to-air missiles or anti-aircraft guns of that time. The only defense against the Kipper was naval jet fighter aircraft, operating from either an aircraft carrier or a shore airfield.

In flight tests, the Kipper cruised on its approach to a target at an altitude of about 10,000 meters, using inertial guidance until it reaches a range of about 100 to 110 kilometers<ref name="CIA">{{Cite book |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000317484.pdf |title=SOVIET STRATEGIC WEAPONS: BACKGROUND FOR SALT (SR IH 69-4) |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |year=1969 |pages=35}}</ref> from the target, where it enters a shallow 15 degree dive, commanded by a mid-course update via radio link. When it reaches a range of 60 to 70 kilometers it levels out at an altitude of between 800 and 1,000 meters where it cruises until it reaches a range of 10 to 16 kilometers, when the missile's active radar homing guidance is engaged. It then enters a dive, striking the target vessel close to or below the waterline.

==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== {{no footnotes|date=December 2014}} * {{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Yefim|title=Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two|year=2004|location=Hinckley, England|publisher=Midland Publishing|isbn=1-85780-188-1}}

Category:Cold War anti-ship missiles of the Soviet Union Category:Nuclear air-to-surface missiles Category:Nuclear cruise missiles of the Soviet Union K-010S K-010S Category:MKB Raduga products Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1960s