Misfire and Plunge Into the Pacific
YOUTUBE video
https://youtu.be/11QlVfGbQ9o
A recent test launch of a Russian Kalibr missile ended with the missile plunging into the ocean.
The missile’s booster rocket misfired, leading the Kalibr to do sky donuts.
Kalibr is a subsonic cruise missile used against targets in Syria.
A newly unearthed, undated video shows a Russian frigate launching a Kalibr cruise missile, with just one problem: the missile’s rocket booster sends it careening wildly out of control, eventually sending it plunging into the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The incident took place aboard the Russian guided missile frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov and involved a Kalibr-type cruise missile, an anti-ship and land-attack weapon powered by turbojet engines. Kalibrs are launched from armored missile silos using a rocket booster that accelerates the missile to the proper altitude and speed. The booster then burns out and falls away, and the missile’s turbojet engine takes over.
In this case, the frigate launches a Kalibr, but the booster suffers some kind of malfunction. In the video, the missile twists in circles in the air. At one point, the missile itself falls off the booster and plunges into the ocean, leaving the booster to continue spinning. The booster, which is now burning from both ends, falls in the water and appears to still turn underwater.
Meanwhile, Marshal Shaposhnikov sails on by, as though it had nothing to do with it. Hat tip to Rob Lee for originally sharing the video