P-800 ONYX

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Context

Russian media reports , claim that the new upgrade to the Onyx can be taken to be an indication of the missile’s use being increased in the future, to strike land targets that support Ukraine’s kamikaze drone boat war in the Black Sea.

Details

P-800 Oniks

• The P-800 Oniks anti-ship cruise missile is a supersonic cruise missile with variants that can be deployed from land or air.
• Its development began in 1983, and it became operational in 2002.

Other specification and capabilities

• The missile launches from a vertical position and uses angular thrusters located near the nose to reposition it horizontally and begin its flight path toward the target.
• The missile then flies at supersonic speeds, can maneuver to avoid air defense, and is resistant to electronic countermeasures.
• Its ground-based variant, the Yakhont, is placed on a Bastion-P road-mobile launcher as part of a coastal defense system.
• The Bastion-P, or a TEL vehicle, can carry two of the Yakhont missiles, which can be launched within five seconds of each other.
• The P-800 Oniks is primarily an anti-ship missile, but has been seeing use against ground forces in Russia’s ongoing fight in Ukraine.

Onyx Is BrahMos Analog

• India’s BrahMos missile is a derivative of the Onyx, particularly the latest BrahMos-Extended Range (ER) Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM), which can reach 450 km, from its previous range of 290 km. The same missile can also be used for anti-ship roles.
• The missile’s supersonic speed causes severe damage to hardened targets, and some experts consider it the next best thing to the Kinzhal aeroballistic hypersonic missile.