Kh-22 / Kh-32
Heavy supersonic (anti-ship) missile of the Tu-22M3, used against ground targets
A 1960s Soviet anti-ship missile with a liquid-fuel rocket motor, designed against carrier groups and carried only by the Tu-22M3 bomber. After launch it climbs to high altitude and dives on the target at Mach 3–4 with a warhead of nearly a tonne. Against ground targets the original Kh-22 is inaccurate — with deadly results, such as the Kremenchuk shopping centre (27 June 2022) and the Dnipro apartment block (14 January 2023). The modernised Kh-32 (in service since 2016) has more range, flies higher and has better guidance, at the cost of a smaller warhead; according to the Russian outlet Voennoye Delo (Feb 2026), Kh-32s have been used in every major strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure this year. For a long time the weapon was considered practically uninterceptable: of the ≈ 412 Kh-22/32s fired, only three had been shot down by January 2026. On 24 January 2026 Patriot downed nine of twelve over Kyiv — a break in the trend.
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- Missile (L × Ø, span)
- 11.65 m, span 3.0 m; 5,820 kg
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia
General
- Type
- Supersonic rocket-powered missile (liquid fuel); originally anti-ship, now mainly against ground targets
- Carrier
- Tu-22M3 only (1–3 per aircraft) — see the Tu-22M3 card
- Variants
- Kh-22 (1960s, Soviet stock); Kh-32 (2016, new-build, longer range, better guidance)
- Use against Ukraine
- ≈ 412 fired since 2022 (Ukrainian Air Force, Jan 2026)
Performance
- Max range
- Kh-22 ≈ 215–325 NM (400–600 km); Kh-32 ≈ 540 NM (1,000 km)
- Speed
- ≈ Mach 3–4 (Kh-32: up to ≈ Mach 4.5 per Russian media)
- Flight profile
- Climbs to ≈ 72,000–130,000 ft (22–40 km), then a steep dive onto the target
- Warhead
- Kh-22 ≈ 900–1,000 kg; Kh-32 ≈ 500 kg
- Guidance
- Inertial + radar seeker (built for ships) — inaccurate against ground targets, especially the old Kh-22
Threat
- Effect
- Heavy damage and many civilian casualties from the large warhead and poor accuracy
- Countermeasure
- Only Patriot PAC-3 is effective (9 of 12 on 24 Jan 2026; before that 3 of ≈ 400); strikes on Tu-22M3 bases
- Threat level
- Very high — fast, heavy and hard to intercept; the Kh-32 is still being newly built
News archive 2
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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Russia strikes Ukraine overnight 16–17 October with Iskander-M/KN-23, Kh-22/32, Kalibr and 332 drones; no ballistic or Kh-22/32 missiles reported intercepted
On the night of 16–17 October Russia carried out a combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Air Force as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. It used Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, Kh-22/32 cruise missiles, four sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles and 332 Shahed (31 jet-powered) and Gerbera attack drones, plus S-8000 Banderol dron…
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«ПВО ВСУ в ночь на субботу не смогла перехватить ни одной ракеты ОТРК «Искандер»» (Topwar: 'Ukrainian air defence failed to intercept a single Iskander missile on Saturday night')
Topwar (author Yevgenia Chernova) describes the Russian combined strike on Ukraine in the night to 17 October. The figures come from the Ukrainian Air Force. Russia reportedly used Iskander-M ballistic missiles, plus KN-23 missiles according to the Ukrainian side, as well as Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles, four sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles and 332 strik…