| P-500 Bazalt / P-1000 Vulkan (NATO reporting name: SS-N-12 'Sandbox') | |
|---|---|
 P-500 Bazalt | |
| Type | Cruise missile Surface-to-surface missile Submarine-launched cruise missile |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | Since 1975 |
| Used by | Soviet Union, Russia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | OKB-52/NPO MashinostroyeniyaChelomey |
| Designed | 1963-1974 |
| Manufacturer | P.A. Strela |
| Produced | 1970–1987 (P-500)1985–1992 (P-1000)[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) |
| Length | 11.7meters |
| Diameter | 0.88 meters |
| Wingspan | 2.6 meters |
| Warhead | High explosive ornuclear |
| Warhead weight | 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) (P-500) |
| Blast yield | 350 kt |
| Engine | turbojet |
Operational range | 550 km (300 nmi) (P-500) |
| Flight altitude | 50–5,000 meters |
| Maximum speed | Mach 3+ (P-1000 Vulkan) |
Guidance system | Semi-active radar homing, terminalactive radar homing |
Launch platform | Echo II &Juliett-class submarines Kiev-class aircraft carrier &Slava-class cruiser |
TheP-500Bazalt (Russian:П-500 «Базальт»; English:basalt) is aturbojet-powered, supersoniccruise missile used by theSoviet andRussian navies. ItsGRAU designation is4K80[2] and itsNATO reporting name isSS-N-12Sandbox, its upgraded version being theP-1000 Vulkan AShM SLCM.
Developed by OKB-52 MAP (laterNPO Mashinostroyeniya), it entered service to replace theSS-N-3Shaddock (Russian designation: P-5Pyatyorka). The P-500 Bazalt was first deployed in 1975 on theSoviet aircraft carrier Kiev, and was later added to both theEcho II and theJuliett-class submarines, replacing theirPyatyorka/Shaddock missiles. A version of the P-500 Bazalt with improved guidance and engines is used on theSlava-class cruisers. The sixteen launch tubes flanking thesuperstructure are an unmistakable characteristic of this cruiser class.
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The P-500 Bazalt has a 550 km range and a payload of 1,000 kg, which allows it to carry a 350 kt nuclear or a 950 kg semi-armor-piercing high-explosive warhead. The P-500 Bazalt usesactive radar homing for terminal guidance, and can receive mid-course correction from theTupolev Tu-95RTs Bear D, theKamov Ka-25K Hormone B and theKamov Ka-31.
The missiles were intended to be used in salvos – a submarine could launch eight in rapid succession, maintaining control of each through a separate datalink. In flight the group could co-ordinate their actions. One would fly to a higher altitude and use its active radar to search for targets, forwarding this data to the other missiles which remained at low altitude.[3]
The missiles were programmed so that half of a salvo would head for acarrier target, with the rest dividing between other ships. If the high-flying missile was shot down, another from the salvo would automatically pop up to take its place. All of the missiles would switch to active radar for the terminal phase of the attack.[3]
An improved version of the P-500 was installed on three Echo II submarines towards the end of the Cold War.[4] The P-1000 Vulkan (GRAU 3M70) presumably has the same firing range and maximum speed with the P-500 Bazalt (range 800 km[5]). The missile weight was increased by 1–2 tons. The missile has a turbojet engine and a starting powder accelerator. High-altitude flight regimes are presumably the same as that of the P-500.[6]
The P-1000 was ordered on 15 May 1979[4] fromNPO Mashinostroyeniya Chelomey.[4] It first flew in July 1982[4] and was accepted for service on 18 December 1987.[4] It was installed on three Echo II submarines of the Northern Fleet between 1987 and 1993. The conversion of two units of the Pacific Fleet, the K-10 and K-34, was abandoned due to lack of funds.[4]
Of the submarines that did receive the P-1000, the K-1 was decommissioned after a reactor accident in 1989, the K-35 was stricken in 1993 and the K-22 in 1995.[4] The P-1000 has been installed on theSlava-class cruiserVaryag,[7] and some sources reported P-1000 missiles on her sister shipMoskva.[8]
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