File image.
Su-30SM fighter jets of the Russian Naval Aviation have begun to use Kh-31A missiles to counter Ukrainian drone boats in the Black Sea.
Video footage posted to social networks on June 29 showed pinpoint strikes on three drone boats somewhere in the Black Sea, with at least two of them getting targeted with Kh-31A missiles. The third boat was reportedly hit by a Lancet loitering munition.
The Kh-31A is a supersonic anti-ship missile. The top speed of the missile is said to be over Mach 3. The missile has an onboard radar homing seeker, giving it a fire-and-forget capability. The range of the latest version of the missile, the Kh-31AD, is said to be between 120-160 kilometers.
The Russian Naval Aviation used the Kh-31A to sink several Ukrainian warships early on in the special military operation, but this was the first known time the missile was used to destroy drone boats which are much faster and have a very small radar cross-section.
In recent months, Ukraine intensified attempts to attack the Crimean Peninsula with drone boats. Besides the more traditional explosive-rigged boats, Kiev forces used some new models which were carrying small FPV suicide quadcopters or armed with heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles.
The Kh-31A’s surprising efficiency against drone boats could make it the weapon of choice for countering these fast small naval targets.
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