The Raduga K-10S (NATO reporting name: AS-2 Kipper) was a Soviet supersonic anti-ship missile that was usually nuclear-armed, designed by MKB Raduga. Its development began in 1955, and it entered service with the Soviet armed forces in 1961. The Kipper missile was a very large one, approximately the size of a small jet fighter, because of the rather primitive state of anti-ship missile technology in the 1950s and 1960s. This missile was never used in combat anywhere.
The AS-2's dedicated launch platform, the Tu-16K-10 Badger C, could carry a single AS-2, semi-recessed in the bomb bay.[2]
AS-2 Kipper slung under Tu-16 Badger-C launch aircraft
The Kipper's long range enabled it to be launched, hypothetically, from beyond the range of any shipboard surface-to-air missiles or anti-aircraft guns of that time. The only defense against the Kipper was naval jet fighter aircraft, operating from either an aircraft carrier or a shore airfield.
In flight tests, the Kipper cruised on its approach to a target at an altitude of about 10,000 meters, using inertial guidance until it reaches a range of about 100 to 110 kilometers from the target, where it enters a shallow 15 degree dive, commanded by a mid-course update via radio link. When it reaches a range of 60 to 70 kilometers it levels out at an altitude of between 800 and 1,000 meters where it cruises until it reaches a range of 10 to 16 kilometers, when the missile's active radar homing guidance is engaged. It then enters a dive, striking the target vessel close to or below the waterline.
Notes
^ ab"K-10S (AS-2 Kipper)". GlobalSecurity. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
^ abc"AS-2 Russian and Soviet Nuclear Forces". Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Resources. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
References
Gordon, Yefim (2004). Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-188-1.
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NATO designation for Russian and former Soviet Union missiles
