Kh-55 / Kh-555

A Soviet-designed, subsonic air-launched cruise-missile family comprising the nuclear Kh-55 and Kh-55SM and the conventionally armed Kh-555.

Overview

The Kh-55, designated AS-15 Kent by NATO and also known as the RKV-500, is a long-range air-launched cruise missile developed for Soviet strategic bombers. It was conceived primarily as a nuclear delivery system, using low-altitude flight, inertial navigation and terrain-contour matching to carry a nuclear payload over intercontinental-theatre distances. The baseline missile has a reported range of 2,500 km, while the conformal-tank Kh-55SM extends that figure to approximately 3,000 km, according to CSIS Missile Threat.

The family includes the Kh-555, a post-Cold War conversion with improved guidance and a conventional warhead. Its operational significance has changed as the stealthier Kh-101 and nuclear Kh-102 have replaced it in frontline Russian production. Surviving Kh-55SM missiles nevertheless remain militarily useful: Russia has launched nuclear-configured rounds fitted with inert ballast against Ukraine, using them as cruise-missile-like decoys within larger strike packages. The current Russian inventory, the number converted to Kh-555 standard and the number expended or dismantled for components are not publicly established.

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