Missile P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn)

The P-270 Moskit is a Soviet supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed during the 1970s as a successor to the P-120 Malakhit. The system entered service in 1984, with production having commenced in 1983.

The missile utilizes four ramjets for propulsion, while the air-launched variant, designated Kh-41, employs a solid-fuel rocket. The system is capable of reaching supersonic speeds at both high and low altitudes. Guidance is facilitated by an inertial system with terminal active radar homing. The missile follows a sea-skimming flight profile, cruising at altitudes between 10 and 20 meters and descending to under 7 meters during the terminal attack phase. To evade defensive systems, the missile performs maneuvers with overloads exceeding 10g starting 9 kilometers from the target. Warhead options include a conventional penetrator or a 120 kt TNT fission-fusion thermonuclear weapon.

The Moskit is deployed across several platforms, including naval ships, fixed-wing aircraft such as the Su-33, and coastal road-mobile transporter erector launchers. It is also compatible with submarines and the Lun-class ekranoplan. Originally designed to engage naval groups in the Baltic, Black, and Pacific seas and to defend against amphibious assaults, the system was first operated by the Soviet Union. It remains in service with the Russian Navy and coastal defense units. The missile has been exported to several countries, including China and Egypt, where it is used on P-32 Molniya class missile boats. Other operators include India, Iran, and Vietnam.