Russia produces up to 50 Kh-101 cruise missiles per month, says Ukrainian colonel – photo
Russia produces around 40-50 Kh-101 cruise missiles and up to 70 Iskander-type missiles per month.
Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, citing Colonel Oleksandr Zaruba, Chief Research Fellow at the State Research Institute for Testing and Certification of Weapons and Military Equipment
Details: Zaruba said Russia has shifted Kh-101 missile production to an almost round-the-clock mode.
"Russia continues to increase the production of aerial weapons. The aggressor has moved Kh-101 missile production to a 24-hour cycle, producing 40-50 units per month, and 60-70 Iskander missiles monthly," the General Staff quoted Zaruba as saying.
Russia has been unable to establish large-scale domestic production of complex electronic components and therefore extensively uses electronics manufactured in North Korea and Western countries. The Russians rely on dual-use components.
"Each Kh-101 missile contains up to 160 foreign components. Shahed/Geran-type drones include at least 50 units of various microelectronics," the officer explained.
Zaruba also noted that Ukrainian forces are observing a trend whereby Russia is attempting to reduce the cost of missile production, focusing on quantity rather than precision.
The Kh-101 is a strategic air-launched cruise missile deployed by Russia from Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers, typically over the Caspian Sea.
At the start of the full-scale invasion, the missile had a warhead weighing around 480 kg, a range of up to 2,500 km, and a combined guidance system incorporating inertial navigation, satellite correction and an electro-optical targeting system in the terminal phase of flight. Notably, the Kh-101 is equipped with a tandem warhead.
Background: In May last year, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Russia had planned to produce 633 Kh-101 cruise missiles over the year, with factories operating in three shifts. As of October last year, some manufacturers of the missile had still not been sanctioned by Kyiv's Western partners.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!