Kh-32

The Kh-32 is a Russian supersonic air-launched cruise missile developed by MKB Raduga, derived from the Soviet-era Kh-22 anti-ship weapon and accepted into service in 2016 as the principal long-range armament of the upgraded Tu-22M3M bomber fleet. Work on modernising the Kh-22 began in the late 1980s under a Soviet state contract, stalled through the 1990s for lack of funding, and resumed in 2008; serial production started around 2014 and the missile was formally fielded two years later. Russia has planned the conversion of some thirty Tu-22M3 airframes into the Tu-22M3M configuration to carry it.

Per Wikipedia, the Kh-32 shares the external dimensions of its predecessor but carries a reduced 500 kg RDX warhead — down from roughly a tonne on the original — to extend range, with a new, more powerful rocket engine and a reworked guidance package. Published range figures put the weapon at 600 to 1,000 kilometres. Russian technical commentary cited by GlobalSecurity describes a cruise profile that climbs to around 40 kilometres altitude before descending onto the target, with a top speed in the Mach 3.5 to Mach 4.6 band and inertial navigation handing off to active radar homing in the terminal phase. The redesign was driven by the vulnerability of the Kh-22’s fixed-frequency guidance radar to jamming, and by the need to launch from beyond the engagement envelope of Western air-defence systems such as Patriot and the Aegis-equipped US Navy.

The sole operator is the Russian Aerospace Forces, which have used the missile against Ukrainian ground targets since the full-scale invasion. Russian Telegram channels including @boris_rozhin, @Voenacher and @vysokygovorit claimed on 17 October 2026 that Kh-22 and Kh-32 missiles were among the munitions in an overnight strike on a metallurgical combinate at Kryvyi Rih and the Zaporizhstal and Zaporizhtransformator works in Zaporizhzhia, alongside around twenty ballistic missiles and four Kalibr cruise weapons. Ukrainian channel @tsaplienko issued a public warning on 15 August 2026 of elevated risk of Kh-32 launches from Tu-22M3 aircraft against the Kyiv region. Documents released in March 2024 by the Ukrainian partisan group ATESH, as reported by GlobalSecurity, indicated a 2024 production plan of 224 missiles at the Dubna Machine-Building Plant, with output said to be running behind that target.

Accuracy has been contested. The OSINT channel @osintdefender reported in August 2026 that Russia had suspended Kh-32 and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal production in April 2026 to redirect resources toward more accurate systems, citing a Kinzhal circular error reportedly exceeding thirty metres. Ukrainian military intelligence deputy head Vadym Skibitsky made a similar claim about halted Kh-32 output on accuracy grounds, as relayed by Russian channel @milinfolive. Ukraine first claimed to have intercepted Kh-22 or Kh-32 missiles in April 2024, with wreckage photographs later showing a 2023 build date on recovered airframe components.