P-500 Bazalt

Tungsten alloy swaging rod is made of tungsten alloy rod through calcinations. The normal method used in the processing are extruding, forging and sintering. After calcinations, tungsten alloy swaging rod has higher ductility, toughness and tensile strength than tungsten alloy rod, so it can be used for a longer time. Tungsten alloy swaging rod is widely used in industry as well as military areas, such as rifle bullet, armor piercing, snipe rifle penetrator, etc. Tungsten alloy swaging rod is used for P-500 Bazalt.

The P-500 Bazalt is a liquid-fueled, rocket-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 Sandbox.

Developed by OKB-52 MAP (later NPO Mashinostroyeniye), it entered service in 1973 to replace the SS-N-3 Shaddock. The P-500 Bazalt was first deployed in 1975 on the Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev, and was later added to both the Echo II class submarine and the Juliett class submarine. A version of the P-500 Bazalt with improved guidance and engines is used on the Slava class cruiser. The sixteen launchers dominate the decks of the class.

The P-500 Bazalt has a 550 km range and a payload of 1,000 kg, which allows it to carry a 350 kt nuclear or a 950 kg semi-armor-piercing high explosive warhead (currently only the conventional version remains in service). The P-500 Bazalt uses active radar homing for terminal guidance, and can receive mid-course correction from the Tupolev Tu-95D, the Kamov Ka-25B and the Kamov Ka-27B.

The missiles were intended to be used in salvos; a submarine could launch eight in rapid succession, maintaining control of each through a separate datalink. In flight the group could co-ordinate their actions; one would fly up to 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) and use its active radar to search for targets, forwarding this data to the other missiles which remained at low altitude. The missiles were programmed so that half of a salvo would head for a carrier target, with the rest dividing between other ships. If the high flying missile was shot down another from the salvo would automatically pop up to take its place. All of the missiles would switch to active radar for the terminal phase of the attack.