MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax-AVN) - Requirement specifications for ramjet missile targets are to be developed and submitted to the Russian Defense Ministry for adoption in the first quarter of 2005.
"At the request of the Defense Ministry, the Molniya Research and Production Association has started developing requirement specifications to be met by ramjet missile target, based on missiles of the S-75 air defense system," a source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
According to him, in the first quarter of 2005 Molniya is to submit draft requirement specifications to the customer, after which it will embark on developing the missile target proper.
"One of the promising approaches to developing missile targets, based on scrapped air defense system missiles, consists in fitting them with ramjets," he said.
He also noted that Russia was the world's leader in developing ramjet missiles and had established a great scientific and technology backlog in this sphere (Kh-31, Moskit, and other missiles).
"A ramjet stabilizes the missile target, and increases its range and cruising speed," he said.
According to the source, a ramjet increases the cruising speed of missile targets up to Mach 2, which allows missile targets to simulate contemporary and future low-signature aircraft of various types.