Kh-23 Grom
The Zvezda Kh-66 and Kh-23 Grom (Russian: Х-23 Гром 'Thunder'; NATO:AS-7 'Kerry') are a family of early Soviet tactical air-to-surface missiles with a range of 10 km. They were intended for use against small ground or naval targets. The Kh-66 was effectively a heavy-warhead, beam-riding version of the K-8 (AA-3 'Anab') air-to-air missile rushed into service in Vietnam in 1968. The Kh-23 was an improved Kh-66 with command-guidance, similar to the AGM-12 Bullpup.
Development
Work on air-to-air missiles had started at the Kaliningrad Engineering Plant (then known as Plant #455, and later merged into Zvezda-Strela) in 1955. This had resulted in the Kaliningrad K-5 (AA-1 'Alkali') family of beam-guided missiles, including the K-51 (RS-2-US) carried by the Su-9 'Fishpot'. OKB-4 Molniya (later Vympel NPO) under Matus Bisnovat would go on to produce missiles such as the AA-6 Acrid. Meanwhile, in 1963 the RS-2-US was tested as an air-to-surface missile. It was concluded that the small warhead and inaccurate guidance made such an application "pointless".
Grom
Grom, meaning 'thunder' in several Slavic languages, may refer to:
Military
Other uses
Grom (missile)
The Grom (meaning "thunder" in Polish) is a man-portable air-defense system produced in Poland. It consists of a 72 mm anti-aircraft missile set with a flight speed of 650 m/s, as well as a single-use launcher, re-usable gripstock and thermal battery coolant assembly electric unit. The full name of the system is PZR Grom, PZR standing for Przeciwlotniczy Zestaw Rakietowy (literally anti-air rocket-propelled system).
It is designed to target low-flying helicopters and aeroplanes. As such, the Grom missile is used by other surface-to-air defence systems of Polish design, including ZSU-23-4MP Biała, ZUR-23-2 kg and POPRAD self-propelled artillery system. It should not to be confused with versions of the Zvezda Kh-23 air-to-surface missile built under licence in Yugoslavia/Serbia as the Grom-A and Grom-B.
History
Initially at least since the 1970s the MESKO metal works in Skarżysko-Kamienna mass-produced license-built Soviet Strela-2M (SA-7 Grail) surface-to-air missiles, designated in Poland as Strzała-2M. However, when these became outdated in the late 1980s the lead designers prepared the works to produce a more modern Soviet design, the 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse). However, Poland left the Soviet bloc in 1990 and the license was declined, thus leaving Poland with no modern MANPADS at hand.
Federal Security Service
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB; Russian: Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ), tr. Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii; IPA: [fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə ˈsluʐbə bʲɪzɐˈpasnəstʲɪ rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjɪ]) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the USSR's Committee of State Security (KGB). Its main responsibilities are within the country and include counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance as well as investigating some other types of grave crimes and federal law violations. It is headquartered in Lubyanka Square, Moscow's centre, in the main building of the former KGB. The Director of the FSB since 2008 is army general Aleksandr Bortnikov.
The immediate predecessor of the FSB was the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) of Russia, itself a successor to the KGB: on 12 April 1995, Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a law mandating a reorganization of the FSK, which resulted in the creation of the FSB. In 2003, the FSB's responsibilities were widened by incorporating the previously independent Border Guard Service and a major part of the abolished Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI). The two major structural components of the former KGB that remain administratively independent of the FSB are the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the State Guards (FSO).
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