Hermes () is a family of modularly designed

guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...

s developed in Russia by the

KBP Instrument Design Bureau JSC ''Konstruktorskoe Buro Priborostroeniya'' (KBP) ( Joint-Stock Company - Instrument Design Bureau) is one of the main enterprises in the field of Defense industry of Russia, Russian defense industry, based in Tula. It is engaged in designing ...

. The Hermes missile can be used from air, ground or naval launchers.

Development

Development of the Hermes by the

started in the 1990s. The missile bears a striking resemblance to the 57E6 used by the

Pantsir missile system The Pantsir () missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Three types of vehicles make up one system: a missile launcher, a radar truck and a command post. Starting with ...

, and it is probably a derivative of this model. The Hermes-A variant was trialed in 2003. The series production of the Hermes was meant to start in 2011-2012, but this did not happen, as the development process was stopped for several years. In 2016, it was announced that the Hermes missile would be tested in live conditions in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. However, nothing indicates that this actually happened. But in the late 2010s, a series of announcements signaled a renewed interest in the missile, following experience from the

Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, and the war against the Islamic State , image = , image_size = , border ...

showing the need for more high-precision armaments.

Description

The Hermes system features a

multistage rocket A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage is ...

missile with a high-powered

booster Booster may refer to: Amusement rides * Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride * Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride * Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Booster, a cha ...

. Two booster diameters are available, 170 and 210 mm. It uses

inertial In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called an inertial space or a Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference in which objects exhibit inertia: they remain at rest or in uniform motion relative ...

and/or radio-

command guidance Command guidance is a type of missile guidance in which a ground station or aircraft relay signals to a guided missile via radio control or through a wire connecting the missile to the launcher and tell the missile where to steer to intercept its ...

for the cruise phase, and semi-active

laser guidance Laser guidance directs a robotics system to a target position by means of a laser beam. The laser guidance of a robot is accomplished by projecting a laser light, image processing and communication to improve the accuracy of guidance. The key ide ...

for the terminal phase.

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

and

infrared homing Infrared homing is a Missile guidance#Passive homing, passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "he ...

are also talked about. The Hermes is designed to engage a great variety of targets, including armoured vehicles, fortifications of various types, small naval surface targets, artillery positions, slow-flying air targets, and others. It can be fired single or in volleys at ranges of up to 100 km and can track and destroy over-the-horizon targets.

Characteristics

* Warhead: 27.5 kg * Explosive: 13 kg * Guidance: Inertial and/or radio-command guidance (cruise phase), semi-active laser homing (terminal). Possible infrared and radar homing

Variants

* Hermes-A: Air-launched version. To be used by the

Kamov Ka-52 The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (, English: kitefin shark), NATO reporting name Hokum A, is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in the 1980s an ...

(up to 16 launchers) and possibly the

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. Th ...

. Range between 15 and 20 km. * Hermes-K: Naval version. Two types of supports are available: a simpler support with four launchers for lighter naval units, and a modified version of the AK-306

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...

with four launchers for heavier vessels. The Hermes-K's range can be increased up to 100 km with the use of the 210 mm booster. * Hermes-S: Land vehicle version. Uses a Kamaz truck chassis, transporting up to 24 missiles. Versions with and without a guidance system for the missiles have been shown in designer drawings. Moreover, a fire-control vehicle with a mast-mounted radar or opto-electronic detection system has also been shown. A coastal defence version is also possible. The Hermes-S's range can be increased to 100 km with the use of the 210 mm booster.

References

{{Russian and Soviet missiles Post–Cold War weapons of Russia Anti-tank guided missiles of Russia Air-to-surface missiles of Russia Surface-to-surface missiles of Russia KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Military equipment introduced in the 2010s Fire-and-forget weapons

Development

Description

Characteristics

Variants

See also

References