RK-55
| RK-55 Relief (NATO reporting name: SSC-X-4 'Slingshot') S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson') | |
|---|---|
| Type | surface/sub-launched nuclear cruise missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | since 1984 |
| Used by | Soviet Union / Russia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | L. V. Lyulev, Novator NPP Temp, Raduga |
| Designed | 1975 |
| Manufacturer | Novator, NPP Temp, Raduga MKB, KhAZ (Kharkiv), others? |
| Produced | 1976 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,700 kg (3,750 lb) |
| Length | 809 cm (26 ft 7 in) |
| Diameter | 51 cm (20.1 in) |
| Wingspan | 310 cm (122.0 in) |
| Warhead | Conventional Nuclear |
| Blast yield | Nuclear 200kt |
| Engine | Solid-propellant rocket booster + R-95-300 or 36MT-37 turbofan 450 kgf |
Operational range | 3,000 km (1,600 nmi) |
| Maximum speed | 720 km/h (447.4 mph) |
Guidance system | Sprut inertial guidance plus TERCOM |
Launch platform | Akula, Sierra II, Victor III, Yankee Notch, and Yasen-class submarines, TEL |
The Novator RK-55 Relief (Russian: РК-55 Рельеф 'Relief'; NATO: SSC-X-4 'Slingshot'; GRAU: 3K12) is a Russian Navy cruise missile that is launched either from submarines (SLCM) or from surface ships. It can have a nuclear warhead developed in the Soviet Union. A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson'; GRAU: 3K10), has apparently been converted to carry conventional warheads and continues in service to this day. The Russian Federation was reported to have deployed the derivative SS-CX-7/SS-CX-8 systems on 14 February 2017. The land launched version is called the Novator 9M729.
The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 'Kent') but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine and was designed by MKB Raduga. Both have formed the basis of post-Cold-War missiles, in particular the 3M-54 Kalibr which has a supersonic approach phase.