Russia's new multi-purpose air-to-surface guided missile, known as the Izdeliye 305E, has proven its combat effectiveness. This was reported in the Telegram channel of Rostec.

"The newest missile "Product 305E" for attack helicopters Mi-28NM ("Night Hunter". - RT) and Ka-52M ("Alligator" - RT) has proven its effectiveness and is successfully used during a special military operation, "the press service of the state corporation said.

As reported earlier by the TASS news agency with reference to the holding company "High-precision complexes" (part of Rostec), the supply of "Products 305E" to the Russian troops "is proceeding systematically."

"Shot and forgot"

"Product 305E" was developed by the research and production corporation "Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering" (KBM). For the first time, the ammunition was presented at the international military-technical forum "Army-2021".

On the sidelines of the forum, in a comment to the Zvezda TV channel, kbm General Designer Valery Kashin said that his brainchild is distinguished by high tactical and technical characteristics.

"The missile has a guaranteed range of 14.5 km. Depending on the altitude of the flight, on the conditions of application, this range may be greater," Kashin said.

According to the general designer of KBM, "Izdeliye 305E" is the first missile in the class of helicopter weapons, which implements the principle of "shoot and forget", allowing the carrier not to accompany the ammunition after launch.

The second method of application of the "Product 305E" is that the pilot detects the enemy object using the on-board sighting system, and then transmits the coordinates of the enemy to the ammunition. As a result, the missile "captures the target according to the standard introduced into it."

The third option for firing the "Product 305E" involves hitting the target at a time when the helicopter is at a respectful distance from the enemy and its on-board equipment cannot detect the enemy.

In this case, the pilot uses the approximate coordinates of the target and sends the missile in the direction of the approximate location of the enemy. When the missile approaches the enemy object for several kilometers, the "Product 305E" transmits to the carrier the image that the homing head sees. After that, the navigator (weapons operator) indicates a specific target to the munition and the missile captures it.

  • Guided missile "Product 305E" at the forum "Army"
  • © RT / Alexey Zakvasin

According to Kashin, his brainchild is equipped with a thermal imaging homing head, a fairly accurate platformless inertial navigation system associated with GLONASS, an altimeter and a communication channel with a helicopter.

The maximum speed of the "Products 305E" is 230 m / s, the mass of the high-explosive fragmentation warhead is 25 kg, the starting weight is 105 kg. In addition to the modernized Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters, the ammunition can be used with some modifications of the Mi-8.

Precision and safety

In a comment to RT, the former head of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command of the Russian Air Force, Reserve Colonel Sergei Khatylev, said that Izdeliye 305E represents a significant achievement of the domestic defense industry.

"Product 305E" has a set of characteristics that are very much in demand in the combat zone. The missile greatly facilitates the combat work of our army aviation and increases the accuracy of hitting targets near the line of combat contact," Khatylev said.

According to the expert, to date, "Product 305E" is the most long-range missile of army aviation. According to open data, the closest competitor of the brainchild of kbm is the guided missile "Vortex-M" with a range of 10 km.

To the advantages of the "Product 305E" Khatylev attributed high accuracy, a combined control system, the principle of "shot and forget", combat work without entering the zone of destruction of enemy anti-aircraft systems.

"The pilot can use several modes of application of this missile. It is also important that it can change the trajectory of the missile at the final stage of the flight and redirect the enemy to another object, "Khatylev emphasized.

According to the expert, in the zone of the SVO "Product 305E" helps our pilots to effectively strike at a wide range of targets: command posts, engineering structures, manpower, armored vehicles, on moving targets, as well as on air defense systems.

"The power of the high-explosive fragmentation warhead of the missile is 25 kg. In the zone of the special operation, there are enough targets for it, although it is clear that it will not take underground and concrete structures," Khatylev said.

A similar point of view is shared by military expert Yuri Lyamin. In an interview with RT, the analyst noted that the "Product 305E" significantly increases the survivability of Russian attack helicopters in the SVO zone.

  • Operation of Ka-52 reconnaissance and attack helicopters in the SVO zone

"Helicopters are very vulnerable in the modern theater of operations, including the special operation zone, where the enemy has a large number of air defense systems. Because of the incessant supplies of the West, they do not become less. In such a situation, our pilots have to be very careful. They need long-range guided missiles, including Izdeliye 305E," Lyamin emphasized.

As the expert explained, the use of long-range guided ammunition allows crews to "fly at the edge of the range of the enemy's air defense zone." With proper reconnaissance of targets, such weapons are a great threat to all types of military equipment, including tanks, ammunition depots and some field fortifications.

Honored military pilot of the Russian Federation, retired Major General Vladimir Popov, also believes that the experience of the SVO demonstrated the high demand of army aviation for the use of long-range guided missiles.

"Long-range guided missiles are exactly what we really need, especially for arming Alligators and Night Hunters. Plus, due to the increased accuracy, there is a saving of ammunition consumption, "the expert says.

According to Popov, the use of guided weapons allows the crews of reconnaissance and attack helicopters of the Russian Federation not to resort to such a complex maneuver as cabring or a slide, when the pilot presses the car to the ground, and then sharply raises its nose up and makes a missile launch.

From the cabration, 80-mm unguided aircraft missiles of the S-8 family are used. The maneuver allows you to strike at the positions, equipment and infantry of the enemy, without entering the air defense zone, and increase the range of destruction. A similar principle of firing is common in artillery firing on a hinged trajectory.

"Cabration is a complex maneuver that is necessary for the use of unguided missiles. Our pilots are coping with this task, but, of course, it would be preferable to use guided missiles. This is both the accuracy and safety of the crews of our army aviation," Popov explained.

  • Mi-28 reconnaissance and attack helicopter in the SVO zone
  • RIA Novosti
  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

As Khatylev suggests, conclusions about the effectiveness of guided weapons have already been made. According to the expert, the Russian industry will produce much more of these munitions and their carriers.

"The topic of ammunition is now almost the main one on the agenda. Officials have already made a number of encouraging statements. I am sure that there will be more guided weapons, and the "Product-305E" will certainly be developed as a result of its use in the SVO. It is possible that this missile will be finalized for use from aircraft and UAVs," Khatylev summed up.