Vietnamese Kilo submarine loaded with Club-S ammunition
The Navy Newspaper published for the first time images of Vietnamese Navy soldiers training to load Club-S missiles for Kilo submarines.
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| Unlike loading ammunition for warships, the process of loading ammunition for submarines is quite complicated and requires the soldier to have proficient skills and experience. |
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| For Kilo submarines, the process of loading missiles or torpedoes is done through two openings of two of the six 533mm torpedo tubes equipped on the ship. When loading, the top torpedo tubes will be opened so that the workers can operate the crane to push the missiles into these tubes. |
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| This process is quite slow because the technical process requires high precision to ensure that the missile and torpedo tube do not collide or become damaged during loading. |
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| Once the missile is placed on the support chute, the process of pushing the missile into the torpedo tube will take place completely automatically by a control system inside the submarine. According to the design, Kilo submarines can only carry a maximum of 4 cruise or anti-ship missiles. Meanwhile, torpedoes can carry up to 18 units. |
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| The published images show that the Vietnamese Kilo submarine is being loaded with Club-S missiles. According to information from the Bharat-Rakshak Military Forum (India), along with the purchase of Kilo submarines, Russia also provided Vietnam with 50 Club-S cruise missiles with a maximum range of 300 km, both for anti-ship and land-based targets. |
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| The Club-S missile launched from the Kilo submarine can strike land targets 300 km away. Bharat-Rakshak added that the 2-ton Club-S missile, launched from the Kilo's 533 mm (21-inch) torpedo tube, carries a 200 kg warhead. |
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The maximum range of this cruise missile is 300 km, but the scariest thing is that when it is about 15 km away from the target, this missile (flying at an altitude of only 30 m) accelerates to 3,000 km/h, meaning it will hit the target in less than 20 seconds. At this speed, intercepting the Club-S missile in the final phase is extremely difficult, if not impossible. In addition, Bharat-Rakshak also believes that the fear of Club-S on the Kilo submarines of the Vietnamese Navy for the enemy is that this system can launch many different types of missiles. |
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| Specifically, the 3M-54E supersonic anti-ship missile has a range of 300km, a flight speed of Mach 2.9, and is equipped with a 200kg armor-piercing warhead. The 3M-14E land-attack cruise missile has a range of 275km and is equipped with a 400kg warhead. The 91RE1 anti-submarine missile has a range of 50km. The 91RE2 anti-submarine missile has a range of 40km... |
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| The Indian newspaper said that with this weapon system, the world currently has no sea defense system powerful enough to prevent attacks from Kilo submarines. |