Kh-55 is a long-range ALCM associated with Soviet and Russian strategic bomber forces.
CSIS Missile Threat identifies Kh-55, NATO AS-15 Kent, as an air-launched cruise missile with a range class around 2,500 km. It is one of the central Soviet/Russian strategic cruise-missile families and is associated with Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bomber operations. Unlike tactical Kh-series missiles, Kh-55 is a strategic standoff weapon.
The missile was designed to let bombers launch from standoff range and avoid defenses through low-altitude flight.
Kh-55 uses the cruise-missile logic of compact turbofan propulsion, long-range flight, and low-altitude routing toward fixed targets. The original strategic role was nuclear delivery, with later related variants and derivatives complicating the family picture. Its compact carriage allowed bombers to carry multiple weapons and attack without approaching directly over defended targets.
Kh-55 remains important as a baseline for later Russian cruise-missile development and as a real-world air-defense problem.
The missile's legacy is visible in later systems such as Kh-101/Kh-102 and in Russia's continued reliance on bomber-launched standoff weapons. Even older missiles can affect air-defense planning if used as decoys or converted strike assets. For readers, the page should distinguish the original nuclear ALCM role from later operational uses and derivatives.
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