SS-N-7 "Starbright"

(USSR)

Because the Project 670 ("Charlie I") submarine's intended armament (the SS-N-9 "Siren") was not ready by the time the first hull was launched, a version of the SS-N-2 "Styx" was quickly adapted. The "Starbright" had a slightly more compact airframe and a different wing-folding arrangement, but was otherwise similar. Each "Charlie I" carried eight SS-N-7's, angled outwards from the pressure hull. The missile could be fired from periscope depth, a major advance from earlier weapons which required the sub to surface. However, the tubes had to be "flooded down" prior to use, a loud operation.

It was hoped that the first Soviet satellites could provide initial targeting for the "Charlie" class subs, however this system failed to live up to expectations and as a result, the sub would have to risk getting a fix on the target with it's own radar prior to firing.

Most "Charlie I" class subs were based in the Pacific. A single unit, K-48, was leased to India from 1988 to 1991; renamed Chakra. When the "Siren" was finally ready, production switched to the "Charlie II" class and no further SS-N-7's were built. A total of about 400 were manufactured. The final two "Charlie I" class subs (K-303 and K-325) decommissioned in 1994 and the SS-N-7 was retired.