Kh-BD debuts, is the Russian bomber’s “second spring” coming?

According to a report by TASS on September 16, Russia has successfully developed the Kh-BD long-range strategic cruise missile with a range of more than 6,500 kilometers and equipped it with the Tu-160 bomber. According to previous reports, the range of the Kh-BD cruise missile will be about 50% higher than the Kh-101 cruise missile currently equipped on the Tu-160 bomber. If the report by TASS is true, then the actual range of the Kh-BD cruise missile has far exceeded outside expectations. What technical innovations may the Kh-BD cruise missile have? How will the Russian Aerospace Forces use this "new killer"? How should countries view the subsequent development of the bomber platform?

The wreckage of the Kh-101 cruise missile. Note its stealth design.

Who is Kh-BD?

The first air-launched cruise missile equipped on the Tu-160 bomber was the Kh-55 cruise missile developed in the 1970s. The Kh-55 cruise missile has a range of 2,500 kilometers. After adding conformal fuel tanks, the range can be further increased to 3,000 kilometers. The circular error probable is less than 150 meters, and the warhead is a nuclear warhead with an equivalent of 200,000 tons. Later, in order to adapt to the needs of conventional warfare, the Soviet Union/Russia replaced the nuclear warhead with a conventional charge warhead weighing about 360 kilograms on the basis of the Kh-55 cruise missile and developed the Kh-555 cruise missile. The Kh-555 cruise missile has a range of less than 3,000 kilometers, and the circular error probable is further reduced to less than 100 meters.

Entering the new century, with the development of air defense technology and stealth technology, non-stealth cruise missiles are facing more and more challenges. For this reason, the Tu-160 bomber began to be equipped with Kh-101/102 cruise missiles with certain stealth capabilities and common platforms. The former has a conventional warhead and the latter has a nuclear warhead.

The biggest feature of the Kh-101/102 cruise missile is its stealth-designed inverted ship-shaped cross-section, which is significantly different from the rounded shape of the Kh-55/555 cruise missile. This design can not only effectively reduce the radar reflection area, but also make full use of the limited internal bomb bay space of the bomber.

The power layout of the Kh-101/102 cruise missile is similar to that of the Kh-55/555 cruise missile. The engine is usually built into the rear of the missile body and pops out before the missile is launched. In order to increase the range, it is rumored that the Kh-101/102 cruise missile uses a foldable fuel tank inside. The fuel tank is usually empty. After the engine is ejected and before the missile is launched, the bomber tank will refuel the unfolded missile tank. Regarding the range, the public statement is that the Kh-101 cruise missile has a range of 4,000 kilometers and the Kh-102 cruise missile has a range of 5,000 kilometers. The main reason why the Kh-102 cruise missile has a range of 1,000 kilometers longer is that its nuclear warhead is lighter and the guidance system requirements for nuclear strikes are lower. Compared with the Kh-101 cruise missile, which is equipped with a complex optoelectronic guidance system with high hit accuracy, the Kh-102 cruise missile can save more weight and carry more fuel.

Considering the actual development conditions of Russia, the Kh-BD cruise missile with a longer range may be developed on the basis of the Kh-101/102 cruise missile. This can not only fully apply the lessons learned from actual combat, but also avoid technical changes to launch platforms such as the Tu-160. If the Kh-BD cruise missile is really a successor model of the Kh-101/102 cruise missile, then the Kh-BD cruise missile may have been improved in the following aspects: first, it is equipped with a new turbofan engine to reduce fuel consumption; second, the warhead is further miniaturized to allow the missile body to accommodate more fuel; third, it is equipped with new electronic equipment to improve battlefield survivability; fourth, the composite guidance method is improved to improve strike accuracy; fifth, the appearance is further treated to make it more stealthy.

“White Swan” returns to glory?

The high-profile appearance of the Kh-BD cruise missile at this time cannot be ruled out as a demonstration by Russia to the United States and other NATO countries. Because the Kh-BD cruise missile has a range of more than 6,500 kilometers, plus the ultra-long combat radius of the Tu-160 bomber, it means that the Russian Aerospace Forces have basically included NATO in the conventional strike range: if calculated based on the Engels Air Force Base, where the Tu-160 is permanently deployed, then the Kh-BD cruise missile can strike the entire Europe; if calculated based on the Arctic Air Force Base where the Tu-160 will be deployed in the future, then Canada and the United States will also be within the range of the Kh-BD cruise missile.

Kh-BD cruise missile in the bomb bay of Tu-160

In addition, the Tu-160 bomber demonstrated the Kh-BD cruise missile in the Far East, and the target of the demonstration was the visiting North Korean military and political personnel. Russia has previously released information that it plans to deploy the latest improved Tu-160M ​​bomber at the Ukrainka Air Force Base in Amur Oblast. Once the deployment plan is implemented, the combination of Tu-160M ​​and Kh-BD cruise missiles will undoubtedly expand the conventional strike range of the Russian Aerospace Forces to major US military bases in the Pacific region.

In addition to extending the strike radius, another important significance of the Kh-BD cruise missile for bombers such as the Tu-160 is that it further ensures the safety of expensive bomber platforms. During the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine has repeatedly used long-range drones to launch long-range attacks on the Engels Air Force Base and the Diaghilevo Air Force Base where Russian bombers are deployed. If equipped with Kh-BD cruise missiles, bombers such as the Tu-160 will be able to withdraw their deployment further.

In addition, since the Tu-160 bomber does not adopt a stealth design, the Kh-BD cruise missile with a longer range will also improve the safety of the bomber in flight.

Do bombers have a future?

The development of the ultra-long-range Kh-BD cruise missile may be seen as an alternative for Russia in the event of a delay in the development of the PAK-DA bomber. Of course, this alternative is both realistic and practical.

Because under the modern air defense system, the traditional bomber's air-dropping strike mode is no longer applicable. If the bomber platform wants to continue to exert its combat effectiveness, it is necessary to either improve the stealth capability of the bomber or simply transform it into an out-of-area strike platform. At present, except for the US B-21 "Raider" stealth bomber which is still under development, the development plans of new generation bombers in various countries around the world have been postponed or cancelled due to reasons such as low cost performance. In this case, continuously improving the weapon range of existing bomber platforms and increasing the types of weapons have become a viable option for major countries in addition to developing stealth bombers.

MiG-31K mounted with the "Dagger" hypersonic missile

In fact, in addition to developing ultra-long-range cruise missiles, countries around the world have other reliable practices in developing long-range strike weapons for bomber platforms, such as "moving" various medium- and short-range ballistic missiles onto bombers. These ballistic missiles launched from bomber platforms include both air-launched hypersonic missiles that have become famous in recent years and "new faces" such as air-launched anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Compared with traditional ballistic missiles, air-launched ballistic missiles have advantages such as strong platform mobility and flexible target attack. In addition, compared with land-based and sea-based missiles, existing anti-missile systems cannot track and intercept them throughout the entire process. Although the range of stealth cruise missiles has been greatly increased and the penetration capability has been greatly enhanced, the development of anti-stealth technology has also been faster. The high-speed advantage of air-launched ballistic missiles is still difficult to replace by subsonic stealth cruise missiles.

In actual combat, bomber platforms need to use stealth cruise missiles and air-launched ballistic missiles in combination according to the different targets and combat environments. I believe that with the continuous advancement of air-launched missile technology, the equation of "traditional bomber + standoff missile = 'new' bomber" will still be valid for a long time. Some "old-fashioned" bombers will continue to exist in our field of vision for many years.

(Author: Fu Chenglu, Image source: TASS, Reviewer: Jiang Fan, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation)