P-270 Moskit/SS-N-22 Sunburn

June 28, 2018

Quick Facts

Russian/US Designation	P-270 Moskit/SS-N-22 Sunburn
Role and Mobility	Ship and Mainland Defense; Ship/Land/Air-Mobile
Designer/Production	Raduga Design Bureau
Range	120 km
Warhead Type and Weight	Conventional/Nuclear; 300 kg
MIRV and Yield	1 MIRV; 120 kt
Guidance System/Accuracy	Mid-Course Autopilot and Terminal Active/Passive Radar Seeker; 0.99 km[i]
Stages/Propellant	One; Solid
IOC/Retirement	1984; N/A
Status/Number of Units	Operational; Unknown

Overview

The P-270 Moskit or SS-N-22 Sunburn is a medium-range supersonic anti-ship cruise missile with sea-skimming capability.[ii] Originally designed to be a ship-launched missile, it has been adapted multiple times to be launched from land (modified trucks), underwater (submarines), and air (Sukhoi Su-33 all-weather carrier). The missile can reach speeds of over Mach 3 at high-altitudes and Mach 2.2 at low-altitude.[iii]

Variants

P-270 Moskit: The original missile

Kh-41: Air-Launched version of the P-270 Moskit

3M-80MVE: Coastal Anti-Ship, Ground-Launched Cruise Missile Variant.

The original P-270 Moskit has been purchased and exported to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (China) and the Indian Navy (India).[iv]

Strategic Implications

The Moskit was designed to be employed against smaller NATO naval groups in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, against non-NATO vessels in the Pacific, and to defense the Russian mainland against NATO amphibious assault.[v] The missile can perform intensive anti-defense maneuvers making it strategically valuable for use in areas with air and missile defense systems.[vi] The Moskit can also be used as a defense weapon for ships. Its high speeds lower the theoretical response time from 120-150 seconds for missiles like the Harpoon and French Exocet to 25 to 30 seconds for the Moskit. The shorter response time makes jamming and counter-measures very difficult making the Moskit a highly successful defensive weapon.[vii]