The S-13 is a 122 mm calibre unguided

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

weapon developed by the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

for use by

military aircraft A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...

. It remains in service with the

Russian Air Force "Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , batt ...

and some other countries.

Development

The S-13 rocket was developed in the 1970s to meet requirements for a penetrating weapon capable of cratering runways and penetrating hardened aircraft shelters, bunkers and pillboxes, to fill a gap between 80 mm and 240 mm rockets and fulfill a role similar to the 127 mm Zuni rocket. The S-13 is conventional in layout, with a solid rocket motor and folding tail fins that provide stability after launch. The first trials were in 1973, but it was introduced only in 1983. S-13 rockets are shot from 5-tube launchers B-13L, that can be carried by most of Soviet and Russian attack and new fighter aircraft, like Sukhoi Su-17/20/22,

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 ( NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It ...

, Sukhoi Su-25, Sukhoi Su-27, MiG-23BN, MiG-27, MiG-29. B-13L1 launcher is used by helicopters such as

Mil Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has be ...

Mil Mi-28 The Mil Mi-28 ( NATO reporting name "Havoc") is a Russian all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It is an attack helicopter with no intended secondary transport capability, better optimized than the M ...

, Kamov Ka-29TB,

Kamov Ka-50 The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (russian: Чёрная акула, translit=Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of ...

and Kamov Ka-52. S-13 rocket system has been accepted for operation on Sukhoi Su-30MK2,

M, Sukhoi Su-25, Sukhoi Su-35, Yakovlev Yak-130, MiG-29BM,

Launcher specifications

Rocket specifications

References

* ''Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons Since World War Two'', Yefim Gordon, * ''Mil Mi-24 Hind Attack Helicopter'', Yefim Gordon and Dimitri Komissarov, * ''Jane's Air Launched Weapons Issue 36'', Duncan Lennox, * Robert Grzęda: ''Npr S-13 i wyrzutnia B-13L'' in: Aeroplan nr. 1(58)/2006 (in Polish)

External links

* http://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/archive-world-worldwide-news-air-force-aviation-aerospace-air-military-defence-industry/global-defense-security-news/global-news-2018/september/4531-russian-combat-helicopters-to-receive-new-s-13df-unguided-rockets.html * http://worldweapon.ru/vertuski/s13.php - photos (and description in Russian) {{Russian and Soviet Aircraft Ordnance Air-to-ground rockets of the Soviet Union Military equipment introduced in the 1970s

Development

Launcher specifications

Rocket specifications

See also

References

External links