How a sophisticated Soviet air-to-surface missile became a makeshift ground-based rocket in Libya

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Kh-29 is a powerful Soviet-designed missile built to destroy bridges and hardened bunkers from the air. Yet, after the destruction of their launch aircraft in 2011, Libyan forces repurposed these high-tech weapons into crude, ground-launched rockets, demonstrating a strange and improvised afterlife for advanced military hardware.

Developed in the late 1970s, the Kh-29—known to NATO as the AS-14 Kedge—was engineered to provide tactical aircraft like the Su-24 and MiG-29K with significant standoff capability. Its design reflects a fusion of Soviet aerospace expertise: the aerodynamic frame was inspired by the Molniya R-60 air-to-air missile, while its guidance systems were adapted from the Kh-25 and Kh-59. Accepted into service in 1980, the missile was intended to strike large infrastructure, including industrial buildings and runways, using a massive 320 kg warhead.

The missile’s versatility stems from its various guidance configurations, including laser, infrared, active radar, and TV-homing variants. Despite being frequently compared to the American AGM-65 Maverick, the Kh-29 is a substantially larger weapon. It boasts a 20% higher top speed of 1,470 km/h and carries a warhead more than double the weight of the Maverick’s 136 kg payload. This raw power made it a popular export, finding its way into the arsenals of nations ranging from China and India to Ethiopia and Serbia.

The most unusual chapter in the Kh-29's history occurred in Libya. Following the 2011 NATO-led intervention, the Libyan Air Force lost its entire fleet of Su-24s, the only aircraft capable of firing the missiles. Rather than discarding the stockpiles seized from Ghardabiya Air Base, local forces modified the missiles for ground-to-ground use. By removing the front and rear fins and ailerons, they converted the precision air-to-surface weapons into unguided surface-to-surface rockets. These improvised munitions were subsequently deployed during the Second Libyan Civil War in 2014, marking a stark departure from the missile's original design intent as a sophisticated, aircraft-launched precision weapon.

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