Russian long-range bombers to get new cruise missiles

Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bombers will be armed with the newest Kh-32 cruise missile, Russian news agency Sputnik reported Friday. The newest missile will be aimed at “destroying enemy warships, radar stations and targets that seriously distort radar signals for bombers,” military expert Dmitry Kornev was quoted as saying.

A Kh-32 missile can reach an altitude of 40 km and fly horizontally before striking the target from above.

The cruise missile, developed by the Raduga Military Design Bureau, part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation, is almost invincible to enemy air defenses and interceptor jets, the report said.

Currently, tests of the new missile are near completion.

The development of the Kh-32 started in the early 1990s, and the first launches were supposedly conducted in the mid-2000s. In 2013, pictures appeared showing Tu-22M3 bombers conducting test flights with Kh-32 missiles at an airfield outside Moscow.

Xinhua News