P-700 Granit/SS-N-19 “Shipwreck”

June 28, 2018

Quick Facts

Russian/US Designation	P-700 Granit/SS-N-19 “Shipwreck”
Role and Mobility	Cruise Missile and Ship Defense; Submarine/Ship-Mobile
Designer/Production	OKB-52/NOP Mashinostroyeniya Chelomey
Range	625 km
Warhead Type and Weight	High Explosive/Nuclear; 750kg
MIRV and Yield	Unknown; 350 kt
Guidance System/Accuracy	Inertial Guidance with Active Radar Homing; Unknown
Stages/Propellant	One; Solid
IOC/Retirement	1983; N/A
Status/Number of Units	Operational; 2 Cruisers with 20 Launchers and 1 Aircraft Carrier with 12 Launchers

Overview

The P-700 Granit or the SS-N-19 Shipwreck is a Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. It can be launched via ship or submarine but can also be used against ground targets.[i] The Granit was developed as a more successful turbojet alternative to the Bazalt in order to compete against the United States’ anti-ship weapons in the 1970’s.[ii] It features a high explosive or nuclear warhead with an explosive yield of 350 kt. The missile can reach speeds of more than Mach 2.5 and has a range of 625 km. The Granit missile is still operational today and is deployed on two cruisers and one aircraft carrier.[iii]

Strategic Implications

Designed to defend against United States’ Navy carrier battle grounds, the Granit remains strategically valuable today because of its unique guidance system. When fired in a swarm (group of 4-8 weapons), one of the weapons climbs to a higher altitude and designates targets while the others attack.[iv] If the designating missile is destroyed, another missile will rise to take over the same purpose. They attack targets in order of priority, highest to lowest, using information gathered on targets during flight. The missile can also counter attacking anti-missiles and its on-board computer carries data to evade electronic countermeasures, ensuring a successful target hit.[v] Due to the missile’s size, it can only be deployed in small numbers on Oscar-class submarines, Kirov-class battlecruisers, and the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. In the future, it is possible that the Granit missiles will be replaced with smaller Oniks and Kalibr cruise missiles in greater numbers.