Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
July 4, 2008
IWG Report 2007
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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SS-N-2B
| Country: | Russian Federation |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | Styx, P-15U |
| Class: | SLCM |
| Target: | Ship |
| Length: | 5.80 m |
| Diameter: | 0.76 m |
| Wingspan: | 2.41 m |
| Launch Weight: | 2300.00 kg |
| Payload: | 450 kg HE |
| Propulsion: | Liquid w/ solid booster |
| Range: | 40.00 km |
| Guidance: | Autpilot, radio altimeter, active radar/IIR |
| Status: | Obsolete, Unknown |
| In Service: | 1965-Unknown |
| Exported: | Algeria, Angola, Azerbeijan, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Yemen |
Details
The SS-N-2B “Styx” is a short-range, ship-launched, liquid fuel propelled, single warhead, surface-to-surface missile developed and manufactured by Russia. The “Styx” was the first surface-launched anti-ship missile to be used in combat, and remains one of the world’s most widely deployed anti-ship missiles.
Development of the SS-N-2/SSC-3 “Styx” family of anti-ship weapons began in the mid-1950s. The missiles, which were designated P-15 Termit (4K40) and P-27 (4K51), are believed to have been designed by the Mikoyan/Berezniak OKB-155. Development of the SS-N-2B “Styx” began in 1958, and the missile entered service in 1965 on “Osa 1” and “Komar” class missile boats. The missile is 5.8 m in length, has a body diameter of 0.76 m, and a launch weight of 2,300 kg. Midcourse guidance is autopilot, with an active radar in the terminal phase. It is powered by a liquid propellant motor, has a cruise speed of Mach 0.8 to 0.9, a range of 40 km, and carries a 450 kg high explosive warhead.
In October 1967, a series of engagements took place between Egyptian and Israeli naval vessels, marking the first use of anti-ship missiles in naval warfare. On October 21, two Egyptian Project 183R (Komar) missile boats attacked the Israeli destroyer Eilat off the Egyptian coast. Two “Styx” missiles struck the ship, which sank two hours later. At the time, the sinking of the Eilat was a considerable shock to navies around the world, especially those within NATO. It was the first clear indication of the threat posed by such weapons. The incident led to increased anti-ship cruise missile development in the West, leading to such designs as the French Exocet and the U.S. Harpoon.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 45 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2006), pp. 140-142; GlobalSecurity.org, “SS-N-2 STYX,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/ss-n-2.htm, accessed on July 1, 2006; Steven J. Zaloga, “The ongoing saga of the ‘Styx’,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, July 1, 1997.
