Thread by @ChungTzuW

(1/24) Let's talk about the P-35 and Progress missiles.

(2) Let us go back to the beginning. In 8̶8̶2̶, R̶u̶r̶i̶k̶'s̶ s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶o̶r̶ P̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ O̶l̶e̶g̶ 1954, Vladimir Chelomei's 'special design group' began work on the P-5 cruise missile. Previously, they worked on the 10Kh, the Soviet copy of the German Fi 103 aka V-1.

(3) Up to this point, cruise missiles had to be assembled on ramps before launch. These included the American Regulus submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles. The P-5 was similar in role, launched by submarines like the ungainly '655' (art by Hylajaponica (DA)).

(4) However, the P-5 was the first cruise missile with automatic wing-unfolding, launched directly from its sealed container. According to Shirokorad, in one version of the story, it is said that Chelomei was inspired to by a bird flying out of a hollow.

(5) Intended to destroy large static targets like cities, bases, or ports, the primitive gyrocompass autopilot (similar to the V-1) gave an error of ~3 km: useless for the conventional 1000 kg warhead, but enough for the 200/600 kt nuclear warhead. Top speed was ~Mach 1.

(6) From here, the P-5 family diverges along two paths. The P-6, intended for submarines, is virtually identical to the P-5, but optimised for the anti-ship role with a radar-homing head and inertial mid-course guidance with corrections from aircraft like the Tu-95RTs.

(7) The P-35 was intended to be launched from surface ships as small as destroyers, and thus had to be more compact than the P-5 or P-6. It, too, is primarily an anti-ship weapon, though it also has a secondary land-attack capability.

(8) The primary intended carrier was the Project 58 (Grozny) cruiser, like this one. These ships were originally destroyers, but Khrushchev was persuaded to call them cruisers so the officers of these ships could get higher ranks and pay.

https://twitter.com/ChungTzuW/status/1746836232758325422

(9) Strictly speaking, the name P-35 refers only to the missile itself. There are, in fact, 3 control complexes that use the P-35 missile: Binom-Blok (ship), Skala-Blok (mobile coastal), and Utyos-Blok (fixed coastal).

(10) There are no ships today that use the P-35 (all having long since been retired and disposed of), thus the only ones of real interest for contemporary purposes will be the mobile and fixed coastal P-35 batteries.

(11) As mentioned before, the P-35 is lighter and shorter than both the P-5 and P-6. This was achieved by reducing the warhead size, fuel carried, and a more compact Tumanskii KR-7-300 turbojet engine.
techinformpress-ru.translate.goog/tpost/fjvj8hep…

(12) Like the P-5/6, the P-35 uses 2 SPRD-38 solid rocket boosters integrated into one unit. They provide a total of 60 t thrust for ~1.2-1.5 s. Once expended, they are released and the turbojet will propel the missile for the rest of its trajectory.

(13) Against naval targets in the Blok 'M' ('Morskoy' - 'Naval') mode, the APLI-1 autopilot will set it to climb to a pre-selected altitude. The RAS-35 radar transmits back a radar 'picture' to the operator, who can select the target before switching to homing mode.

(14) When firing at land targets in the 'B' ('Bereg' - Coastal) mode, the missile relies purely on the inertial guidance autopilot with external radio command guidance corrections. The CEP is reputed to be 0.5-1.5 km.

(15) Flight speed and range vary depending on the flight profile chosen (lower altitude = lower speed and range), but the performance was respectable for its day. The 405 kg explosive is nearly twice the total warhead weight of Harpoon and would probably obliterate smaller ships.

(18) It is a common mistake to call the P-35 'Progress'. They are in fact different missiles, with Progress (3M44) being an upgraded P-35. However, the change is mostly internal to the guidance system, and AFAIK, they are externally identical.

(17) The 4K44B Redut coastal defence complex, of which Skala-Blok is a part of, is based on the ZIL/BAZ-135M 8x8 chassis. The complex consists of the P-35B missile, SPU-35B TEL, and 4P45 Skala control vehicle, usually accompanied by a towed coastal radar like MIS-M1E.

(18) Redut was responsible for this hit on the Ukrainian ship Vershchagino. It had entered an exercise area and a P-35 locked on to the ship, punching clean through. Fortunately the missile was carrying a dummy warhead and did not break up, otherwise it might have been fatal.

(19) It is believed today that the Russians no longer operate Redut, the last firing being in 2020.
sr-topwar-ru.translate.goog/234754-pozvolt…

(20) The fixed battery is known as the Utyos complex. There are two Utyos complexes: 'Object 100' in Crimea and 'Object 101' on Kildin island on the Barents Sea. These utilise retractable twin launchers, and the facility is hardened against nuclear attack.

(21) The only one active today is Object 100, which was formerly owned by the Ukrainian Navy and inactive until the Russians annexed Crimea in 2014 and reactivated it.
topwar-ru.translate.goog/103960-rossiya…

(22) Until fairly recently, not much was heard of the Object 100 beyond occasional test launches. They are, after all, primarily anti-ship weapons, and Ukraine doesn't have a navy that would generally be targetable by such weapons.

(23) In January 2024, a single P-35/Progress missile was shot down by Ukrainian air defences near Odesa. It is highly likely this was fired by the Object 100 battery, though for what purpose, I cannot say. Perhaps a decoy, perhaps a trial?
en.defence-ua.com/events/rare_p_…

(24) The reappearance of the P-35/Progress in 2024 is a bit of a surprise, and marks the combat debut of the weapon, over 60 years after it first entered service in 1962. Time will tell if the Russians will try again with this Cold War veteran.

(25)