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Ukraine test-fires new cruise missile
Ukraine’s state-owned concern, UkrOboronProm, announced that one of its companies, the State Kyiv Design Bureau (DKBB) “Luch” successfully test-fired a new cruise missile from land.
According to UkrOboronProm, the new cruise missile could engage targets on land and at sea.
“During the successful tests, the missile’s flight efficiency and systems operations were checked,” said the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council Secretary, Oleksandr Turchynov.
In his speech in August 2017, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that cruise missiles would be among the new systems inducted in the Ukrainian armed forces under the country’s re-armament efforts.
UkrOboronProm states that under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine did not keep a single stand-off range missile, making this new system an important addition.
While not disclosing the range or payload of the cruise missile, UkrOboronProm emphasized that its range “does not contradict the international agreements signed by Ukraine [regarding] such weapons.”
Additionally, Dylan Malyasov of the Defence Blog website reports that the new cruise missile is a subsonic system based on the Russian Kh-35. Designated “Neptun” the cruise missile is guided by inertial navigation system (INS) mid-course, with an active-radar-homing seeker managing the terminal stage.
Like its contemporaries, the new cruise missile relies on a rocket-booster for launch, after which it relies on an airbreathing engine which could either be a miniature turbojet or turbofan. Specifications such as range, warhead payload or terminal-stage seeker range are not officially known.
The baseline Kh-35E has a range of 130 km, warhead weight of 145 kg and total mass of 620 kg and 520 kg for ship/land-based and fixed-wing aircraft versions, respectively. The Kh-35UE has a range of 260 km, warhead mass of 145 kg and total mass of 670 kg and 550 kg for surface and aircraft versions, respectively.
The new cruise missile joins a growing group of new systems meant to feed into Ukraine’s re-armament efforts as well as bolster its defence industry’s viability. Be it through indigenous efforts or partnerships with prospective customers, UkrOboronProm is also undertaking trials for the Antonov An-132D transport and special mission aircraft, 80K6T air surveillance and air defence radar and M4-WAC-47 assault rifle.
9 Comments
by Faisal
Looks sleek.
by Augustine
Russian technology. Ukraine got all it’s advanced tech from USSR, 1930s till 1990s. Now Ukraine wants to abandon Russia, join pro-NATO EU, carry all they got from Russia to the British, French, Germans. As if Russia is a fool to let that happen. Russia made Ukraine, the EU-NATO bloc wants to harvest the fruits of Russia’s 100 years labour. Without Russia, Ukraine will be technologically near zero.
by Sinan Cagrı Kurt
Considering Russians got most of their jet engine tech from West via espionage, West is gonna get like nothing out of this.
by Hasan Jamil
Russia is not the USSR. Ukraine owes nothing to Russia. If anything, most of the high tech military equipment and control systems of the USSR was designed and made by Ukrainian design bureaus.
by Joseph
Ukraine does what benefits Ukraine, there is nothing wrong with that. Getting closer to western Europe could improve it’s trade and economy. But it is not so good for it’s defense industry.
Originally with the support of Soviet Union, Ukraine had a strong aircraft and tank engine industry and it has been exporting engines to Russia and China in the past. But Russia went on an indigenisation process, which eliminates all Ukraine parts in Russian engines and other equipment.
China is no longer buying Ukraine tank engines and went on it’s own indigensation drive for aircraft engines.
Ukraine seems to have managed to alienate both Russia and China, it’s largest defense buyers, in a short period of time. I think Ukraine’s application to NATO came at a high cost. If 2014 Russian military intervention in Crimea was the result of it, a very high cost. In hindsight I think Ukraine could have been more tactful with it’s diplomacy.
From what I hear Russia and China have been openly competing to headhunt Ukraine engineers, especially those working on aircraft engines, and relocate them.
Believe or not Ukraine’s GDP is only about 1/3 of Pakistan and it has neither the domestic scale nor resources to support the investment needed for a comprehensive defense industry.
The recent lost of Thailand tank order to China already showing the current state of Ukraine defense industry. I think it’s downfall is inevitable.
by TZK
The achievements of the Soviet era cannot be attributed only to Russians, for example Sergei Korolev a Ukrainian and a rocket engineer was the father of USSR space program. Leonid Brezhnev was also a Ukrainian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev
by Joseph
I didn’t say it was. But with Soviet Union there was more than enough domestic scale and the investment required for Ukraine defense industry, as Soviet union was the second largest economy.
But once Soviet Union is gone, both are gone with it.
by TZK
Clicked on the wrong reply button, I meant to reply to Augustine.
by ahmria
Ukraine has been around for centuries as a sovereign nation before the Russians invaded. Russia did not create Ukraine.