How Russia fired missiles at Syria from 1,000 miles away

RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILE

ATTACK ROUTES INTO SYRIA

RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILE ATTACK ROUTES INTO SYRIA

RUSSIAN CRUISE MISSILE ATTACK ROUTES INTO SYRIA

THE LAUNCH

The 3M14T missiles were launched from the flagship of the strike group, the Dagestan, and from three smaller missile ships.

THE DAGESTAN

Length: 335 feet

Crew: 103

THE GRAD SVIYAZHSK, THE UGLICH

& THE VELIKY USTYUG

Length: 243 feet

Crew: 36

THE LAUNCH BOOSTER

A booster propels the 3M14T missile from its launch capsule to its cruise speed at a height of approximately 500 feet. The booster is jettisoned.

Pop-out

wing

slot

Control

fins

Turbojet

engine

Booster

Stabilizer

Stabilizer

The first liquid-fuel booster stage is fitted with four small lattice stabilizers. The missile can be launched from either a ship or a submarine.

THE LAUNCH

Flight wings pop out of the missile's midsection

Control fins mounted around the jet exhaust

Spent

booster

falls away

The 820-pound booster falls back to earth when the missile’s solid-fuel turbojet engine takes over.

THE MISSILE

The standard 3M14T is a land-attack cruise missile and is reported to be armed with an 882-pound payload.

Engine

intake

Pop-out

wing

Missile length

20 feet, 4 inches

Launch tube diameter

2 feet

Missile weight

2,588 pounds

Range

Over 917 miles

Altitude over sea

66 feet

Altitude over ground

164 feet

Sea level speed

656 - 886 feet/sec

EXPLOSIVE POWER

The missile warhead is filled with a penetrating blast/fragmentation high explosive, with a delayed action fuse.

The turbojet engine is fed air through an intake in the underside

Fuel

Payload

Guidance

systems

THE LAUNCH

THE MISSILE

Missile length

20 feet, 4 inches

A booster propels the 3M14T missile from its launch capsule to its cruise speed at a height of approximately 500 feet. The booster is jettisoned.

Launch tube diameter

2 feet

Missile weight

2,588 pounds

Range

Over 907 miles

Altitude over sea

64 feet

Altitude over ground

164 feet

Flight wings pop out of the missile's midsection

Sea level speed

656 - 886 feet/sec

Control fins mounted around the jet exhaust

Engine

intake

Pop-out

wing

Spent

booster

falls away

The standard 3M14T is a land-attack cruise missile and is reported to be armed with an 882-pound payload.

The 820-pound booster falls back to earth when the missile’s solid-fuel turbojet engine takes over.

THE LAUNCH BOOSTER

TARGETING

Control fins

The turbojet engine is fed air through an intake in the underside

Pop-out

wing

slot

Fuel

Turbojet

engine

Pop-out wing

Control

fins

Payload

Booster

Guidance

systems

Stabilizers

The first liquid-fuel booster stage is fitted with four small lattice stabilizers. The missile can be launched from either a ship or a submarine.

The missile warhead is filled with a penetrating blast/fragmentation high explosive, with a delayed action fuse.

MISSILE IN FLIGHT

The subsonic missile is powered by a turbojet engine. Over water, the missile flies as low as 66 feet. The missile is thought to have a cruising speed of between 656 and 886 feet per second at sea level, and a range in excess of 917 nautical miles.

For most of the flight, the missile flies autonomously, following preprogrammed waypoints that permit the missile to fly around known threats, such as air defenses, radar and obstacles. The missiles’ route can be updated mid-course using satellite communication.

A Terrain Contour Matching Enroute (TERCOM) system samples terrain height and then correlates the elevation profile against stored elevation data. Over land, the missile flies as low as 164 feet using TERCOM. Its low altitude makes it a difficult target for enemy air defenses.

The missile is also guided with the Russian equivalent to GPS (GLONASS) for the fight prior to the terminal phase, which guides the missile to a preprogrammed set of coordinates.

The terminal phase to the target either continues to use GLONASS or uses an active radar seeker in the nose.

THE LAUNCH

THE MISSILE

A booster propels the 3M14T missile from its launch capsule to its cruise speed at a height of approximately 500 feet. The booster is jettisoned.

Missile length

20 feet, 4 inches

Launch tube diameter

2 feet

Missile weight

2,588 pounds

Range

Over 917 miles

Altitude over sea

66 feet

Altitude over ground

164 feet

Sea level speed

656 - 886 feet/sec

PATH TO DESTRUCTION

Flight wings pop out of the missile's midsection

The subsonic missile is powered by a turbojet engine. Over water, the missile flies as low as 66 feet. The missile is thought to have a cruising speed of between 656 and 886 feet per second at sea level, and a range in excess of 917 nautical miles.

Engine

intake

Control fins mounted around the jet exhaust

Pop-out

wing

Spent

booster

falls away

For most of the flight, the missile flies autonomously, following preprogrammed waypoints that permit the missile to fly around known threats, such as air defenses, radar and obstacles. The missiles’ route can be updated mid-course using satellite communication.

The standard 3M14T is a land-attack cruise missile and is reported to be armed with an 882-pound payload.

The 820-pound booster falls back to earth when the missile’s solid-fuel turbojet engine takes over.

Control

fins

The turbojet engine is fed air through an intake in the underside

A Terrain Contour Matching Enroute (TERCOM) system samples terrain height and then correlates the elevation profile against stored elevation data. Over land, the missile flies as low as 164 feet using TERCOM. Its low altitude makes it a difficult target for enemy air defenses.

Pop-out

wing

slot

Turbojet

engine

Fuel

Pop-out wing

Control

fins

Payload

The missile is also guided with the Russian equivalent to GPS (GLONASS) for the fight prior to the terminal phase, which guides the missile to a preprogrammed set of coordinates.

Booster

Guidance

systems

Stabilizers

The missile warhead is filled with a penetrating blast/

fragmentation high explosive, with a delayed action fuse.

The first liquid-fuel booster stage is fitted with four small lattice stabilizers. The missile can be launched from either a ship or a submarine.

The terminal phase to the target either continues to use GLONASS or uses an active radar seeker in the nose.