Newest high-speed underwater missile being developed for Russian Navy - Region company General Director
MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax) - The development of a missile capable of moving underwater at a speed of more than 100 m/s is the task the staff of the Region company is working on, the company General Director Igor Krylov told Interfax.
"No one in the world has until now managed to create a weapon that moved underwater at a speed of 100 m/s. Our task is to improve the underwater missile, but do so on the current technological foundation," Krylov said.
The missile Shkval created by Region is capable of moving underwater at a speed of 100 m/s and this record has not been broken yet, he said.
"No one else except for Region, in Russia or worldwide, makes anti-submarine missiles," he said.
Speaking about the development of aviation anti-submarine missiles, Krylov said that the Shkval and anti-submarine missiles were once developed for a specific purpose: there was a need to create such a weapon that would minimize the time needed for destroying multi-purpose submarines that had appeared at that time.
"In other words, speed was needed to prevent the potential enemy's submarine from dodging or using counterweapons. So Region developed and provided to the naval aviation several types of aviation air-to-subsurface missiles. The Russian Navy and the naval forces of some countries that are our traditional partners in military-technical cooperation now have Air-to-Subsurface Missile-2, Air-to-Subsurface Missile-3 and Air-to-Subsurface Missile-3M," Krylov said.
The Russian naval aviation has air-to-subsurface missiles. These missiles are used on Ilyushin Il-38, Tupolev Tu-142 and Beriev Be-12 aircraft, as well as on antisubmarine helicopters.
Region, which is a developer and a manufacturer, has the necessary production and lab facilities, as well as a water-tank for testing and adjustment hydroacoustic systems. The enterprise has branches in Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan region, for testing guided air bombs, in Karakol, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, on Issyk-Kul Lake, for tests of naval underwater weapons an d in St. Petersburg for placing naval underwater weapons on ships.
Region is an affiliate of the Tactical Missiles Corporation.