On September 23, 2002, by a decree of the Russian government, the 3M55 Onyx anti-ship cruise missile was adopted by the Russian Navy.

In the export modification, she received the name "Yakhont".

The ammunition was developed by specialists of the military-industrial complex "NPO Mashinostroeniya" (Reutov).

At present, this enterprise is part of Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC (KTRV).

In various versions, Onyx can be used by submarines, ships of various displacements, stationary and mobile coastal defense systems, as well as aviation.

As military expert Nikita Buranov said in an interview with RT, the adoption of the Onyx by the Navy was a big event in the life of the entire Russian army, since the country's fleet received a powerful weapon that was practically invulnerable to enemy air defense and missile defense systems.

Onyx is a very formidable weapon.

This missile is capable of bending around the terrain and flying low over water, thus being out of the reach of enemy radar.

In addition, the Onyx has supersonic speed.

If enemy radars still fix it, then the anti-missile is unlikely to keep up with it, ”said Buranov.

"Destroy any target"

Work on Onyx started in the 1980s.

As Dmitry Kornev, the founder of the Military Russia portal, explained in an interview with RT, the USSR leadership expected to equip the fleet with a unified, highly effective anti-ship missile capable of hitting ships of any displacement both from the sea and from land.

According to Kornev, hitting one "Onyx" is capable of destroying a corvette-class ship and making a frigate incapable of combat.

At the same time, as the Soviet leadership expected, the small platforms of the Navy should have become the carrier of such serious weapons, the expert added.

  • Test launch of the Onyx rocket

  • © ktrv.ru

Onyx began to be created during the Cold War.

The USSR needed high-precision anti-ship weapons to deter the NATO Navy.

Great importance was given not only to increasing the capabilities of the Navy in the event of military operations at sea, but also in the defense of coastal facilities from enemy landings, ”explained Kornev.

Nikita Buranov also believes that the Onyx was originally designed to fight the United States Navy and its allies.

These missiles, as the expert said, were planned to be equipped with Project 670 Skat nuclear submarines and naval aviation.

“One of the main tasks of the Soviet Navy was to hunt for enemy sea convoys and its aircraft carrier groups.

The calling of "Onyx" is the infliction of critical damage to the NATO Navy.

In addition, Onyx was also needed to destroy coastal radio-contrast targets, ”said Buranov.

Surface tests of the Onyx prototype were carried out on a small missile ship (MRK) Nakat of project 1234.7, which received the nickname "toothy baby" due to its modest size and powerful weapons.

Based on the results of tests in 1996, the brainchild of NPO Mashinostroeniya was accepted for trial operation.

At this time, India became interested in the latest supersonic missile, which, after the collapse of the USSR, intensified military-technical cooperation with Russia.

In 1998, Moscow and New Delhi established a joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace Pvt.

Ltd.

Based on the Onyx, the PJ-10 BrahMos was made, adapted for launch from the sea, coast and air.

Modifications of the "Onyx" are widely used in the armed forces of India.

After the adoption by the Navy of our country and with the improvement of the economic situation in the 2000s, the missile began to replenish the Russian arsenals.

Now ships and submarines equipped with special transport and launch containers (TPK) or 3S14 universal vertical launchers are equipped with these munitions.

“Today, Onyx can be used from most of the Navy’s combat platforms.

Of the submarines, its carriers are project 885 / 885M nuclear-powered ships, from the surface fleet - almost all RTOs, corvettes and frigates, ”Kornev explained.

At the same time, Onyx cannot be used from submarines on which the Caliber-PL complex is installed, Kornev added.

We are talking about diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3 Varshavyanka and project 677 Lada.

  • Rocket "Onyx"

  • © ktrv.ru

“Caliber shooting from submarines of the Varshavyanka and Lada types is carried out through a torpedo tube.

Onyx is a larger missile than Caliber, but it is calmly used from the Caliber-NK surface complex, which is widespread in the Navy, ”said Kornev.

According to KTRV, the launch weight of the Onyx is 3 tons, the maximum target engagement range is 300 km, the weight of the warhead is 200 kg, the flight speed is 680-750 m / s (2.4-2.7 thousand km / h ).

The high speed and maneuverability characteristics of the Onyx are achieved by a ramjet propulsion engine and a solid-fuel launcher.

The rocket can be launched in any weather, has no time limits, and its operation is not affected by natural and climatic conditions.

The Onyx onboard electronics complex includes an autonomous inertial navigation system, a radio altimeter, digital computing equipment and a radar homing system for a target in the final flight segment.

"Onyx" - homing ammunition, made on the principle of "shot and forget".

This quality allows the carrier to leave the firing line immediately after launch.

Moreover, according to the developer, in order to successfully destroy the missile, it is required to transmit minimal data about the target.

“It (the Onyx missile. -

RT

) is distinguished by complete autonomy of combat use, high supersonic speed in all areas of flight, the ability to select different trajectories (low-altitude and combined), as well as complete unification for a wide range of marine, aviation and ground carriers, " - says on the site "NPO Mashinostroeniya".

In addition to the ships and submarines of the Navy, Onyx is included in the arsenal of the Bastion coastal missile system (BRK), which operates in a single circuit with the Bal missile system and the Utyos silo-based system. 

“This duet (“Bastion” and “Bal.” -

RT

) is capable of destroying any surface and coastal target within the affected zones, ”KTRV CEO Boris Obnosov said earlier in an interview with TASS.

According to the corporation, "Bastion" is able to operate in the conditions of "organized fire and electronic countermeasures of the enemy."

The complex is mounted on a wheeled high-passage chassis MZKT-7930 and can be located at a distance of 200 km from the coast.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, one Bastion complex with four launchers is capable of defending the coast over a length of more than 600 km.

“The time from the moment the order is received on the march to full deployment to combat positions is five minutes, after which the complex is completely ready for firing,” the military department says.

"Bastion" passed a combat test in Syria in 2016 and during a special operation in 2022.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the Arab Republic in 2016, missile launches from this DBK destroyed a number of objects of gangs.

In May and June of this year, several Onyxes fired from Bastions destroyed hangars with Bayraktar TB2 UAVs near Odessa.

Demanded weapon

In recent years, KTRV enterprises have been modernizing Onyx.

There is no detailed information on the progress of these works in the public domain, however, from the available materials it can be concluded that the changes will mainly affect on-board electronics.

So, at the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2021 in Zhukovsky, a modernized monopulse homing head (GOS) of the export version of this missile was presented.

The product ensures the detection of sea and land objects in the conditions of electronic countermeasures, selects decoys, captures and accompanies them.

According to Dmitry Kornev, the modernization of Onyx can be carried out approximately according to the same scenario as the improvement of BrahMos.

Recall that Russian and Indian specialists are now developing a new unified missile, which will be faster, lighter and more long-range.

On the sidelines of MAKS-2021, Praveen Pathak, General Manager for Advertising, Marketing and Export of BrahMos Aerospace, told RT that the new BrahMos will weigh 1.5 tons, and the flight speed will approach the hypersonic barrier, that is, Mach 5.

Kornev believes that Onyx, like the new Russian-Indian missile, will receive more advanced on-board electronics, a new fuel mixture, and the body will be made of lightweight and durable materials.

The expert drew attention to the fact that the RF Armed Forces are armed with other, in part more modern and long-range missiles that can be used against sea targets.

In particular, these are the Zircon and Kinzhal hypersonic systems.

At the same time, Kornev is sure that Onyx will keep a combat watch for a long time to come.

  • Export version of the rocket "Onyx"

  • © Boevaya mashina / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Onyx is still a highly efficient modern rocket.

It is powerful, supersonic, and harder to intercept than the subsonic Caliber, and in terms of production cost it is cheaper than new hypersonic models, ”the expert explained.

A similar point of view is shared by Nikita Buranov.

According to him, Onyx demonstrated high efficiency during the special operation and remains of great importance for the reliable provision of coastal defense.

“It is always easier to improve a well-established rocket production than to organize a new one.

Therefore, I think Onyx will go through more than one modernization.

This high-precision weapon showed itself well in combat conditions.

Now such missiles are in great demand, and our industry, I am sure, will continue to transfer them to the fleet, ”summed up Buranov.