Kh-23 & Kh-66

The Kh-66 and Kh-23, NATO AS-7 Kerry, were Soviet tactical air-to-surface missiles developed for fighter-bomber use. GlobalSecurity describes the Kh-66 as a temporary solution while Kh-23 development continued, and later references treat the pair as part of the same early guided-missile family. The current SAM category is inaccurate; these are air-launched attack missiles.

Early Soviet air-to-surface missiles often required the launching aircraft to maintain guidance geometry or operator attention during flight. That improved accuracy over unguided bombs or rockets, but exposed the aircraft and limited maneuvering during the attack. Kh-23 represented a more deliberate tactical missile design than the transitional Kh-66.

These missiles are not comparable to modern fire-and-forget precision weapons. Their importance is developmental: they gave Soviet tactical aircraft a guided attack option and informed later systems with better seekers and guidance. The page should focus on guidance constraints, aircraft integration, and role as early precision-strike equipment.