Originally developed as a standoff nuclear air-to-ground missile similar to the U.S. Air Force's AGM-69 SRAM, versions with conventional warheads have been developed.

As of early 2019, it was uncertain whether the Kh-15 was in service, with rumors that it had been retired or placed in storage.

[2] In 1967, MKB Raduga started developing the Kh-2000 as a replacement for the Kh-22 (NATO reporting name AS-4 Kitchen) heavy anti-shipping missile.

[3] The sophistication of the design made it suitable for other roles, and a nuclear-tipped version was developed in tandem with the conventionally armed variant.

[3] The Kh-15 climbs to an altitude of about 40,000 m (130,000 ft) and then dives in on the target, accelerating to a speed of about Mach 5.