Moskit Cruise Missile

Description

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Context

Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan. Two boats launched a simulated missile attack on a mock enemy warship about 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.

About the Missile

The P-270 Moskit missile has the NATO reporting name SS-N-22 Sunburn.
It is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile of Soviet origin, capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 km.

About Cruise Missiles

Cruise missiles are unmanned vehicles that are propelled by jet engines, much like an airplane.
They can be launched from ground, air, or sea platforms.
Cruise missiles remain within the atmosphere for the duration of their flight and can fly as low as a few meters off the ground.
Flying low to the surface of the earth expends more fuel but makes a cruise missile very difficult to detect.
Cruise missiles are self-guided and use multiple methods to accurately deliver their payload, including terrain mapping, global positioning systems (GPS) and inertial guidance, which uses motion sensors and gyroscopes to keep the missile on a pre-programmed flight path.
As advanced cruise missiles approach their target, remote operators can use a camera in the nose of the missile to see what the missile sees. This gives them the option to manually guide the missile to its target or to abort the strike.