The UK’s tabloid The Sun published a news piece detailing, the efficacy of Russia’s new Kh-35U anti-ship missile platform:

Footage released by Russia’s defence ministry showed the capabilities of the country’s Kh-35U anti-ship missiles. They were fired from a Su-34 long range strike aircraft and managed to sink a group of ships which were imitating a group of enemy vessels.

The training exercise was a triumph with all eight launches successfully striking the intended targets.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said: “Su-34 multifunctional fighter-bombers carried out practical launches of the newest guided anti-ship missiles Kh-35U. All in all eight launches were carried out; all missiles successfully hit targets.”

Russian officials claim the state-of-the-art Kh-35 is immune to any enemy attack.

To that end, these videos give some eyes-on perspective to the efficacy of these missile systems.

This video is equally impressive (there is no sound, so do not think there is a problem here.)

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The claim that the Zvezda Kh-35U systems are invulnerable to enemy attack lies in several factors: The system has an operating temperature range between -40C and +50C. It is capable of launch in extremely high humidity environments, and can operate in windspeeds over 40 mph. It is a mobile launch platform, capable of easy movement.

The missile itself is a subsonic cruise missile, sometimes, as shown here, equipped with a rocket booster for launch. The missile’s aerodynamic configuration is optimized for sea-surface skimming, and so enhances its stealthy profile. Its guidance algorithms are also highly secure, and the missile can rely on external guidance for much of its flight and switch to internal homing guidance once it is in range to lock on target itself.

Sputnik News notes that the missile is now adapted for use with the Sukhoi T-50 (Su-57) stealth fighter, further insulating it from detection by enemy forces:

Speaking to Russia’s Izvestia newspaper in an interview published on Friday, Nikolai Vasilyev, chief designer at Tactical Missiles Corporation, the company that designs the missiles, explained why Russia’s prospective opponents fear the Kh-35, and how the Pentagon once tried to get their hands on them.

Speaking about the Kh-35’s widespread deployment in the Russian Navy, and its popularity in other countries, including Algeria, India, Iran and Vietnam, among others, Vasilyev said that the high regard for the missile comes down in part to its universality.

“The Kh-35E is Russia’s first universalized missile which can be used from various types of carriers,” the chief engineer noted. “Before it, the classical approach was for different weapons systems…(aircraft, helicopters, ships and coastal defense systems) to use specially-created missiles for each. The development of such weapons was a very costly affair. Therefore, in order to optimize spending, it was decided to create a universalized missile that could be used from airplanes, helicopters, ships, coastal defense complexes and, in case of urgent need, from submarines.”

Today, Vasilyev noted, the main competitors to the Kh-35E include the American Harpoon and the French Exocet anti-ship missiles. Sweden and China have their own developments, the RBS-15 and the C-801, respectively, while Japan and North Korea are making an effort to develop them. “In general, any modern state engaged in maintaining the combat readiness of its military must have such weapons,” the engineer said.

Asked to provide his assessment of how the Kh-35E would fare against the capabilities of these foreign analogues, Vasilyev explained that the fact that many sufficiently powerful countries without a domestic anti-ship missile program capability purchase the Russian weapons is a sign of their worth.

“Until recently, the American Harpoon was considered the top missile [in this class]. But the US supplied it only to its closest allies. For this reason, many countries went with ‘budget’ models, including Exocet and Chinese analogues like the C-801. I have often taken part in negotiations with foreign customers. For me as a developer, it’s nice to hear when customers reach the conclusion that the Kh-35E is one of the best in its class. I can state with all responsibility that the Kh-35E and its Kh-35U modification not only hold their own against the foreign missiles, but in many respects are superior to them.”

Asked to list the specific advantages of the Kh-35E, Vasilyev explained that first and foremost, it comes down to the weapon’s immunity to enemy countermeasures. 

“The biggest secret to any missile is its ability to resist enemy interference, that is, its resistance against jamming. Jamming includes active measures, when a missile’s homing device is jammed with a powerful radio-electronic signal. There are also passive jamming measures – chaffing — including finely cut pieces of foil, fiberglass, etc. These are shot into the air, and the miniature radar homing device onboard the missile receives a huge number of signals, preventing it from finding its real target.”

“A missile’s combat effectiveness is determined by two factors,” Vasilyev said. “The first factor is the missile itself, and its ability to hit targets. For example, a single missile will be enough to destroy a missile boat displacing 500-1,500 tons. But to reach this vessel, it will be necessary to send eight missiles, for example. Seven of them will be either shot down, or blocked by the enemy’s electronic warfare systems. Only one will pass through and find its target. The stronger a missile’s jamming resistance, the less missiles are needed. The use of highly protected warheads allows us to halve the amount of missiles necessary – to send not eight missiles, but only four.”

The second criterion for a missile’s effectiveness is the relative cost ratio between the weapon and its target, the senior engineer explained. “The engineering solutions providing our missiles with countermeasures resistance capability are a state secret. But what I can tell you is that the knowhow used in the Kh-35E is notably higher than that of its foreign analogues, including Harpoon.“

One more video describing the system follows: