Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office revealed that it is developing a new supersonic-cruising air-to-surface missile (ASM) called the ‘Bliskavka’ (Lightning) for the Su-24 and Su-27 .
Yuzhnoye did not reveal the range, total mass, or warhead mass of the Bliskavka. However, it did disclose to the media that the Bliskavka will be able to cruise at a speed of Mach 3.5, and have a longer range than the Russian Kh-31, which can reach up to 110 km according to Rosoboronexport .
One of Yuzhnoye’s core design objectives with the Bliskavka is to ensure that Ukraine’s existing aircraft – notably its Su-24s and Su-27s – require minimal modifications to carry the new missile. The Bilskavka is designed to carry fragmentation and penetration warheads . Thus, it would not be surprising if the Bliskavka’s total mass is in the range of 1,000 to 1,500 kg, which would enable the Su-24 to carry at least one of these missiles alongside other equipment (e.g., fuel tanks) .
According to IHS Jane’s, Yuzhnoye is developing three variants of the Bliskavka:
An anti-ship variant with an active radar-homing (ARH) seeker;
An anti-air defence version with a passive anti-radiation seeker;
And a precision air-to-surface version with an electro-optical (EO) seeker .