Dubai Airshow 2025 – The Kh-69 cruise missile displayed abroad for the first time in a camouflage paint scheme
The Kh-69 air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), developed by JSC Raduga State Design Bureau named after A.Ya. Bereznyak (part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation, KTRV), is being displayed abroad for the first time in a new paint scheme
At the Dubai Airshow 2023, this missile was displayed in an all-gray paint scheme, but now it has been given a camouflage paint scheme, a “pixelated” version. The upper part of the ALCM’s body and wing panels are painted gray-green, while the lower part retains the standard gray colour. This solution is apparently aimed at reducing the cruise missile’s visibility against the ground. The Kh-69 ALCM is designed to engage a wide range of stationary targets, including those with no radar, infrared, or optical contrast relative to the surrounding background, with known coordinates and target area information. The missile is bing actively used during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including by Su-57 fighter jets.
As reported to EDR On-Line at the KTRV stand, one or more flight missions can be entered into the missile’s control system to enable target assignment of the ALCM to various targets immediately before launch.
The Kh-69 has a maximum range of 290 km, and its flight altitude ranges from 50 to 300 metres, depending on terrain. The missile’s flight speed is 750-1,000 km/h. It can be launched at altitudes ranging from 0.2 to 11 km, with the carrier aircraft speed ranging from Mach 0.5 to 0.9. The target aspect angle during launch can be +/- 45 degrees. The missile’s circular error probable (CEP) from its intended aiming point is 5-7 meters.
The Kh-69 cruise missile is equipped with a navigation and automatic control system based on a strapdown inertial system (SINS), integrated with navigation equipment, including a satellite navigation system, an integrated radio-technical altimeter and airspeed indicator, and an OE-M electro-optical terminal guidance system.
The missile can be armed with a 310 kg penetrating warhead or a 300 kg cluster warhead. The Kh-69’s launch weight is 770 kg, its length is 4.19 m, its wingspan is 2.45 m, and its width with folded wings and tail is 0.4 m. The missile’s square cross-section allows four Kh-69 missiles to be carried in the internal weapons bays of the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter. During its flights at the Dubai Airshow 2025, a Su-57 fighter jet opens the hatch of its forward weapons bay, revealing two Kh-58 UShKE anti-radar missiles, painted red, installed for display. However, these could be replaced by Kh-69 missiles or other weapons.
Photos N. Novichkov
