Cruise Missiles

Cruise Missiles

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Defence

Context- Ukraine, via a Telegram post late Wednesday, claimed to have severely damaged the Russian Black Sea Fleet Flagship ‘Moskva’ off the coast of Odessa via a missile strike on the ship.

Concept-

What is the type of cruise missile that hit the Moskva?

• The Ukrainians claim that the Moskva was hit by two anti-ship cruise missiles called the Neptune.
• Ironically, the design of this missile is based on a Russian Kh-35 cruise missile which goes by the NATO name of AS-20 Kayak.
• According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the Neptune is a coastal anti-ship cruise missile which is capable of destruction of naval vessels in a range of 300 km.

What is Moskva, the ship that was hit by the missile?

• Moskva is a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy named after the city of Moscow. It has a displacement of 12,490 tons.
• It is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy and carries a crew of around 500 personnel.
• The Moskva was originally commissioned as the Slava in 1983. It was recommissioned in 2000 as the Moskva with refurbished weapon systems and electronics.

About Cruise Missiles:

• A cruise missile either locates its target or has a preset target.
• It navigates using a guidance system — such as inertial or beyond visual range satellite GPS guidance — and comprises a payload and aircraft propulsion system.
• Cruise missiles can be launched from land, sea or air for land attacks and anti-shipping purposes, and can travel at subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic speeds.
• Since they stay relatively close to the surface of the earth, they cannot be detected easily by anti-missile systems, and are designed to carry large payloads with high precision.

Cruise Missile vs Ballistic Missile: