Kh-31A AshM

Look at the maximum range of the SAMs carried by AEGIS and the range of the Kh-31, any model, and you will have your answer.

Of course if you can lure that AEGIS class ship into coastal waters, or near islands or near neutral shipping/airlanes then you might get first shot, but same could be said with longer range missiles that allow the aircraft to stand off and attack things.

Against an average destroyer the Kh-31 is a very fast and generally likely to be effective weapon. Against uber ships you will need to use lots and its lack of range will count against it more than its speed will count for it.

Handy for zapping patrol boats, pirate boats, speed boats etc, but longer range subsonic or supersonic model would be better for larger stuff.

So I guess the Kh-31P anti-radar missile would be a far more effective weapon against AEGIS protected warships…

Here some specs from the dtig.org missile databse for the Kh-31 missiles:

NATO-Code: AS-17 KRYPTON
GRAU-Code: Kh-31A1
Length: 5,23 m
Body Diameter: 360 mm
Wing Span: 1.150 mm
Launch Weight: 650 kg
Warhead: 90 kg SAP
Propulsion: Booster + Ramjet
Speed: 1.170 m/s
Range: 70 km
Guidance: INS + Active Radar Homing

NATO-Code: AS-17 KRYPTON
GRAU-Code: Kh-31A2
Length: 4,74 m
Body Diameter: 360 mm
Wing Span: 1.150 mm
Launch Weight: 600 kg
Warhead: 90 kg FRAG-HE
Propulsion: Booster + Ramjet
Speed: 1.170 m/s
Range: 50 km
Guidance: INS + Passive Radar Homing

NATO-Code: AS-17 KRYPTON
GRAU-Code: Kh-31U
Length: 5,23 m
Body Diameter: 360 mm
Wing Span: 1.150 mm
Launch Weight: 650 kg
Warhead: 90 kg SAP
Propulsion: Booster + Ramjet
Speed: 1.170 m/s
Range: 200 km (launch from high altitude)
Guidance: INS + Active Radar Homing

NATO-Code: AS-17 KRYPTON
GRAU-Code: Kh-31P
Length: 4,74 m
Body Diameter: 360 mm
Wing Span: 1.150 mm
Launch Weight: 600 kg
Warhead: 90 kg FRAG-HE
Propulsion: Booster + Ramjet
Speed: 1.170 m/s
Range: 150 km (launch from high altitude)
Guidance: INS + Passive Radar Homing

So the supersonic capability of the Kh-31A wouldn’t make it any more effective against an AEGIS protected vessel? I was just trying to gauge how effective this AshM is compared to Exocet, Harpoon etc…especially since China uses it…(Venezuela and Libya should be getting it soon with their Su-30s)

While the speed would be useful in the event the attacker gets the missile away the point about the launch envelope is that the attacking aircraft would have come well within the engagement envelope of the target AEGIS vessel. If you kill the launcher who cares what it had under its wings.

So the supersonic capability of the Kh-31A wouldn’t make it any more effective against an AEGIS protected vessel? I was just trying to gauge how effective this AshM is compared to Exocet, Harpoon etc…especially since China uses it…(Venezuela and Libya should be getting it soon with their Su-30s)

The Kh-31 was an anti radiation missile that was seen to have potential as an anti ship missile. It is not a mini moskit, this weapon would be of no use against a mini AEGIS class ship.
The ranges of the early models are 110km for the Anti Radiation missile when lunched from medium altitude and moderate speed (ie 600km/h plus), while the range for the anti ship models is largely limited by detection range of the targets… 70km for a very large ship, 50km for a destroyer, and 25 km for a patrol boat.

couldn’t find much info on the weapon on the web…no two sources could agree on its range either (50 Km or 70 Km?)…info on the specs and capabibilties of this important weapon would be great! Thanks in advance for any info…

There is a tremendous amount of information on the Kh-31 on the web.

The capablilities of this weapon are very well known. It was even purchased for use as supersonic target by the United States.

Information on the range of the Kh-31/MA-31 is readily available in the public domain. Range depends on many factors, such as release altitude, flight profile, and the trade off between fuel capacity and payload.