cruise missile russia cost

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Forbes estimates Jan. 2 mass attack cost Russia nearly $620 million

Russian forces launched at least 99 missiles of various types and 35 Shahed "kamikaze" drones against Ukraine on Jan. 2, costing Russia nearly $620 million, Forbes estimated .

Russia’s large-scale coordinated missile attack targeted Kyiv, the surrounding region, and Kharkiv on the morning of Jan. 2. It was preceded by a wave of Shahed drones. The attack killed five people and injured 127, including children, according to the latest update by the State Emergency Service.

The Air Force reported earlier that Ukraine intercepted all of the drones and 72 Russian missiles , including 59 Kh-101/555/55 cruise missiles, three Kalibr cruise missiles, and all of the 10 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles. Russian forces also used 12 ballistic missiles of the Iskander/S-300/S-400 type and four Kh-31P anti-radar missiles.

Forbes calculated the cost based on the estimates that one Russian Kh-101 cruise missile costs $13 million, a Kalibr cruise missile costs $ 6.5 million, a Kinzhal ballistic missile costs $15 million, an Iskander costs $3 million, and one Shahed 136 drone costs $50,000, among others.

"Due to the fact that the precise distribution of missiles by type remains unknown, Forbes estimates their total cost at approximately $620 million," the media wrote.

Read also: UPDATED: Russia launches mass missile strikes against Kyiv, Kharkiv

We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent .

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What to know about the long-range cruise missile Russia says it fired

Russian naval forces launched long-range cruise missiles on Tuesday evening from the waters off Sevastopol, a port city in Russia-held Crimea, according to expert analysis of video verified by The Washington Post.

Russia said the 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missile attack destroyed a major Ukrainian arsenal.

Understanding the weapons that have drawn the world’s attention since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

A v ideo filmed by a witness from the Sevastopol waterfront on Tuesday shows at least four projectiles being fired from the water. Geolocation of the video by The Post shows the missiles appear to be traveling northwest, away from the city. As the narrator recites the date and location, the camera pans to show his surroundings.

“We thought it was a plane flying,” the narrator says. “It’s normal that planes fly here. But shooting is something serious.”

Additional video filmed around the same time shows eight flares with long tails that appear to be airborne missiles flying over the Black Sea. Both videos were verified by The Post.

Footage shared by the Russian defense ministry on social media shows large fireballs emanating from a warship where the ministry said Russian forces had fired Kalibr cruise missiles toward military assets in Orzhev, a village outside of the city of Rivne. Rivne is located more than 200 miles west of Kyiv and would be within the range a 3M-14 Kalibr missile could travel if it was fired from Sevastopol.

The tightly cropped video first shows multiple large explosions in succession above a ship, while someone off camera counts, “First, second, third, fourth.” The video then cuts to a wider view of a sunset where the long tails of the eight missiles are visible. The Post was not able to verify the location of this launch.

What you need to know about hypersonic missiles, which Biden says Russia used against Ukraine

Video reportedly of a Russian Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ship launching 8 Kalibr-NK cruise missiles from near Sevastopol. https://t.co/GcWqUpoXLh pic.twitter.com/VvU3l5yYCK — Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 22, 2022

“As a result of the strike, a large depot of weapons and military equipment of the Ukrainian troops, including those received from Western countries, was destroyed,” a statement on the ministry’s Telegram channel said.

U.S. officials said they could not confirm that the weapons had been used. Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed the deployment of the missiles or the destruction of an arsenal near Rivne.

The Post could not independently verify Russia’s claim that a weapons depot had been destroyed.

Ian Williams, deputy director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he was nearly positive the videos showed the launch of 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missiles.

“These are Russia’s long-range naval sea-based cruise missiles, similar to the U.S. Tomahawk,” he told The Post in an email. “They use satellite navigation along with some onboard inertial guidance.”

“This was almost certainly launched by the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Mark Cancian, senior adviser for the international security program at CSIS, said in an email. Kalibr missiles are “at the high end of Russian capabilities,” he added. “Russia uses them to attack the highest priority targets. They seem to be doing more of that in western Ukraine. It may be part of an effort to attack strategic targets, that is, targets that matter in the long war.”

The 3M-14 or SS-N-30A cruise missile , commonly referred to as the Kalibr missile, can be fired from ships or submarines toward land targets. It can travel a maximum range of about 1,550 miles, according to the CSIS Missile Defense Project.

3M14 Kalibr

Stabilizers

20 feet, 4 inches

6 foot person for scale

Pop-out wings

Control fins

The missiles, designed to penetrate the air defenses of stationary ground targets, fly autonomously and largely horizontally at low altitude, along preprogrammed waypoints. Their route can be updated midcourse via satellite communication. Cruise missiles can be highly accurate compared to ballistic missiles.

Low altitude

flight path,

by satellite

Approximate 1,550 mile range

Not to scale

3M14T Kalibr

flight path, parallel to

Low altitude flight path, parallel to ground

Tracks terrain

during flight

Route can be updated through satellites

The standard 3M14T land-attack missile reportedly contains a nearly 1,000-pound high explosive warhead. It is often used to attack storage facilities, command posts, seaports and airports.

Russia stuck barracks in the southern port city of Mykolaiv with a Kalibr missile earlier this month, the New York Times reported , killing at least eight Ukrainian soldiers who had been sleeping there. The region’s governor said at least 19 others were wounded.

A Pentagon official said at a background briefing Wednesday that the United States still assessed that Russia has “the vast majority” of its inventory of surface-to-air missiles and cruise missiles.

Russia first used the SS-N-30A Kalibr missile in Syria in October 2015, when it launched 26 missiles from Russian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea, at forces fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.

• Missiles of the World

Kh-101 / Kh-102

The Kh-101 / Kh-102 is a line of conventional and nuclear capable air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) developed and deployed by Russia. A stealthy missile, the Kh-101/-102 is designed to defeat air defense systems by flying at low, terrain-hugging altitudes to avoid radar systems. The Kh-101 carries a conventional warhead, while the Kh-102 is believed to carry a 250 kt nuclear payload.

Kh-101 / Kh-102 at a Glance

Kh-101 / Kh-102 Development

Kh-101 / kh-102 specifications, service history.

Since entering service in 2012, the Russian air force has employed the Kh-101 several times in combat operations.

• Andrei Akulov, “Russian Kh-101 Air to Surface Cruise Missile: Unique and Formidable,” Strategic Culture , October 19, 2016, https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/10/19/russian-kh-101-air-to-surface-cruise-missile-unique-and-formidable.html.
• “Kh-101/-102” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2016), 189.
• Ibid; Russian Ministry of Defense, “Strategic Tu-95MS bombers destroyed the ISIS militants’ command post and storages in Syria with missile attack,” July 5, 2017, http://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12132186@egNews.
• Dave Majumdar, “Ready for War: Russia’s Stealthy Kh-101 Cruise Missile Debuts in Syria,” National Interest , November 18, 2015 http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/ready-war-russias-stealthy-kh-101-cruise-missile-debuts-14387; Akulov.
• “Tactical Missile Corporation plans to upgrade Kh-101 Cruise Missile,” Russian Aviation, August 19, 2016 https://www.ruaviation.com/news/2016/8/19/6541/?h.
• O’Halloran, 189.
• Ibid; Akulov.
• “Kh-101/-102” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, 189.
• “Kh-65/ Kh-SD/ Kh-101,” Federation of American Scientists, https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/bomber/kh-101.htm.
• RC Porter, “Top-Notch Kh-101 Cruise Missiles that Russia Unleashes on Daesh in Raqqa,” Fortuna’s Corner (blog), February 19, 2017, https://fortunascorner.com/2017/02/19/the-cruise-missiles-russia-is-using-in-syria/; Nicholas de Larrinaga “Russia Launches Long Range Air Sorties into Syria,” IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly , November 17, 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/20151118145706/http://www.janes.com/article/56062/russia-launches-long-range-air-sorties-into-syria.
• David Cenciotti, “Russia Tu-95 Bear Bombers Escorted by Su-30SM Jets Carry Out Air Strike in Syria using Kh-101 Strategic Cruise Missiles,” The Aviationist , July 5, 2017, https://theaviationist.com/2017/07/05/russian-tu-95-bear-bombers-escorted-by-su-30sm-jets-carry-out-air-strike-in-syria-using-kh-101-strategic-cruise-missile/.
• “Russia hits Islamic State in Syria with advanced cruise missiles,” Reuters , July 5, 2017 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-idUSKBN19Q1QP.
• Russian Ministry of Defense, “Tu-95MS bombers fired cruise missiles at terrorist objects’ in Syria,” September 26, 2017, http://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12143592@egNews.

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Russia Bombs Power Plants and Ukraine Targets Refineries in Dueling Attacks

As missiles caused extensive damage to Ukraine’s power grid, Kyiv continued drone assaults inside Russia that have drawn criticism from Washington.

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By Marc Santora

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

As Russian missiles streaked through the skies above Ukraine before dawn on Saturday, once again targeting the nation’s already battered energy grid in a broad and complex bombardment, Ukrainian drones were flying in the other direction, taking aim at vital oil and gas refineries and other targets inside Russia.

The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defense teams had intercepted 21 of the 34 Russian cruise and ballistic missiles fired from land, air and sea-based systems, but the attack caused extensive damage to four thermal power plants and other critical parts of the power grid in three regions.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 66 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region, which is just across the Kerch Strait in southern Russia, east of the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the head of the regional government, said the Ukrainian drones had targeted two oil refineries, a bitumen plant, and a military airfield in Kuban.

The Security Service of Ukraine, known as the S.B.U., said the Ukrainian military operation had targeted the Kushchevsk airfield and the Ilsky and Slavyansk oil refineries. The airfield housed “dozens of military aircraft, radars and electronic warfare devices,” the agency said in a statement, adding, “The S.B.U. continues to effectively target military and infrastructural facilities behind enemy lines, reducing Russia’s potential for waging war.”

The Kremlin tightly controls information about Ukrainian attacks, often making it difficult to assess their impact, and it was unclear how much damage the drone strikes caused.

Russia has also outlawed criticism of its war effort, aggressively stifling any voice deemed critical of the military and arresting hundreds of people as part of a widespread crackdown on dissent. On Friday, the Russian authorities arrested a journalist from the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, Sergei Mingazov, for reposting information on social media at the outset of the war about Russian atrocities, according to Russian officials and his lawyer, Konstantin Bubon.

Although the Russian authorities routinely deny or play down the impact of Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, the attacks on oil and gas facilities have been hard to hide. Britain’s military intelligence agency estimated last month that such strikes had disrupted at least 10 percent of Russia’s oil refinery capacity. On March 1, the Kremlin imposed a six-month ban on gasoline exports in what appeared to be an effort to avoid shortages and prevent spikes in domestic prices.

Ukraine has vowed to increase attacks inside Russia, using its expanding fleet of domestically produced long-range attack drones, even as the strikes on oil and gas infrastructure have stoked tensions between Kyiv and Washington. The Biden administration has publicly condemned the attacks, worried that they could lead to even greater Russian retaliation and drive up prices in global energy markets.

“Those attacks could have a knock-on effect in terms of the global energy situation,” the American defense secretary, Lloyd J. Austin III, told Congress this month. “Ukraine is better served in going after tactical and operational targets that can directly influence the current fight.”

The Biden administration’s stance is out of step with other allies, who have supported Kyiv’s use of its domestically produced weapons to go after what Ukraine considers legitimate military targets.

About a third of Russia’s national budget comes from oil and gas, and Ukrainian officials have said that attacks on the facilities strike at the heart of the Kremlin’s wartime economy. They also hope, over time, to undermine Russia’s ability to wage war, since refined oil products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are essential for keeping any large army moving.

“Ukraine has the right to strike legitimate military targets outside the territory of their country to defend itself,” Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, said this month when asked about strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities.

But the Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid are also taking a growing toll as Moscow seeks to undermine Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, throttle its economy, deepen the suffering of millions of civilians and undermine the state’s ability to function.

Since resuming large-scale bombardments on power production facilities in late March, Russia has focused many of the attacks on thermal and hydro power plants, which are important in keeping the overall system in balance during peak periods of usage.

Before Saturday’s attack, Russia had already destroyed 80 percent of Ukraine’s thermal power generation capacity, energy officials said. The extent of the damage after the latest bombardment was still being determined on Saturday, energy officials said, but the cumulative impact is growing and threatens to cause lasting problems.

“The large-scale damage that Russia has caused recently cannot be repaired in a few weeks or even months,” Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said in a statement, urging people “to use electricity sparingly.”

Although American military assistance is flowing into Ukraine for the first time in months, Ukraine’s air defense systems remain stretched and short on ammunition. Ukraine is particularly vulnerable to Russian ballistic missiles, which can only be routinely countered by advanced American-made Patriot batteries.

“We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday at a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a consortium of about 50 nations that have provided military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”

After Russia bombarded the Ukrainian energy grid in the winter of 2022-23, Kyiv’s allies supplied three Patriot batteries. But it has run low on the interceptor missiles they use. Germany has said it will supply a fourth Patriot battery soon, and Ukrainian officials are engaged in an urgent diplomatic drive to secure more of the systems and the munitions they require.

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.

Marc Santora has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia. He was previously based in London as an international news editor focused on breaking news events and earlier the bureau chief for East and Central Europe, based in Warsaw. He has also reported extensively from Iraq and Africa. More about Marc Santora

These Are the High-Powered Weapons Ukraine Needs to Repel Russia's Big Offensive

While it waits for jets, Ukraine still has a lot of firepower to work with

But then, to the surprise of the world, Ukraine pushed back, exposing unexpected disorganization within the Russian war operation. “The early phase is really defined by Ukrainian grit and skill, combined with a spectacularly incompetent Russian strategic plan,” says Scott Boston, a senior defense analyst with the RAND Corporation.

Unfortunately, grit and skill couldn’t sustain Ukraine for long. By summer, Russia’s military potency had ground down resistance in swaths of territory in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Russia claimed those regions as its own and attempted to establish pro-Russian provisional governments. The U.S. and NATO allies had already sent Ukraine billions in weapons , but Russia’s advances made it clear that more was needed—reports had emerged that Ukraine’s soldiers were still launching homemade grenades, and its citizens were tossing Molotov cocktails to slow the Russian advances. By December, the U.S. alone had approved $19.3 billion worth of drones, howitzers, missiles, and rockets. Ukrainians would still be outnumbered and fighting in the streets, but they were finally getting the fearsome weapons they most needed.

That arsenal includes long-range rocket launchers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, powerful howitzers, and cruise missiles costing millions of dollars apiece. Together, these munitions have allowed Ukrainian soldiers to destroy command posts and equipment, defend key cities, and prevent Russia from establishing air superiority. As the supplies rolled in, Ukraine clawed back territory, which it is still attempting to hold as Russia has begun attacking Ukraine’s power grid, water supplies, and residential areas.

As the war pushes into its second year and winter threatens to upend strategies on both sides, weapons provided by allies will be critical to future Ukrainian victories. Here are eight whose battlefield performance suggests they may eventually send Russia running.

M142 High Mobility Rocket Artillery System (HIMARS)

What it is: A truck-mounted mobile rocket launcher | Cost per unit: $7 million | Units pledged by the U.S.: 38 | Range: Up to 50 miles

Massive and mobile, the HIMARS has changed the course of the war more than any other weapons system. Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., says it has been one of the two most effective weapons in the war, alongside Javelin anti-tank missiles (more on those below). Each one contains a pod of six launchers that fire powerful, precision-guided rockets with a range of up to 50 miles. “The main thing is the combination of range and precision. It is a very accurate weapon,” says Scott Boston, the RAND Corporation defense analyst. Ukraine has used HIMARS units to target Russian ammunition depots and headquarters. In fighting this fall, it has used them to destroy bridges crossing the Dnipro River in the strategically important city of Kherson. Because the launcher is mounted on a five-ton vehicle, troops can quickly move the weapon after firing to avoid counterstrikes, and skilled operators can reload the system with fresh rockets in minutes. “Even a small number of HIMARS can fire an enormous number of rockets,” Boston says.

M777 Howitzer

What it is: One of the most agile, reliable cannons ever made | Cost per unit: About $4 million | Units pledged by the U.S.: 142 | Range: 25 miles

As Russia moved more troops into the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine this summer, both sides amassed forces around key battlegrounds and built defensive trenches. “They’re fighting it like World War I, which means lots and lots of artillery. You look at the battlefield and you see lots of craters,” says Mark Cancian, the retired Marine. The M777, a basic artillery howitzer , is surprisingly effective for this kind of fighting. The 155mm cannon has a 17-foot-long barrel that fires 95-pound artillery rounds up to 25 miles. That’s a shorter range than those of similar weapons operated by Russia (the BM-30 Smerch has twice the range), but it makes up for it with greater agility, precision, and reliability. It can fire on Russian weapons ammunition depots, troops, or command centers with accuracy up to 16 feet, well within the shell’s 230-foot blast radius. Its rugged design allows operators to fire as many as 300 rounds a day.

National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile (NASAM)

What it is: Ground-launched surface-to-air missile | Cost per unit: About $25 million | Units pledged by the U.S.: 8 | Range: 25 miles

As Russia intensifies its cruise missile strikes inside Ukraine, surface-to-air defenses are becoming critical. The Russian military frequently targets infrastructure, utilities, and military assets, but Ukraine claims that its missiles have also hit residential buildings, schools, and hospitals. So far, the most effective weapon Ukraine has to protect these locations is the NASAM surface-to-air missile system. Jointly produced by the U.S. and Norway, the weapon can be towed into place or mounted onto the back of a vehicle. Each unit contains a radar system and three launchers that hold up to six short-range to midrange missiles. Through allies, Ukraine has access to large stocks of the types of missiles that are compatible with NASAM, but so far there aren’t many launchers to go around. The U.S. and NATO countries deactivated most of their short-range air defenses after the Cold War because their potential adversaries—like Iraq and Afghanistan—didn’t have strong air forces, says Cancian. Raytheon, who produced the weapon in the U.S., says it will build more, but it could take a year or longer for them to reach Ukraine.

Javelin Anti-Tank Missile

What it is: Portable missile that attacks tanks from above | Cost per unit: $178,000 per missile | Units pledged by the U.S.: 8,500 missiles | Range: 2.5 miles

The Javelin’s name says it all: Unlike some anti-tank missiles, this one flies in an arc, just like the ancient weapon. It strikes from above to hit the top of a tank, where it is most vulnerable. “Javelin is far and away the most capable man-portable, anti-tank missile ever conceived,” says Boston. “It is absurdly good. No tank anywhere is survivable against a Javelin warhead in the roof.” The weapon was especially valuable early in the war, when troops and tanks were moving quickly across open spaces. Unlike some more sophisticated weapons, Javelin requires little training, so Ukrainian forces were able to employ these weapons as soon as the Russians arrived. The U.S. has delivered about 8,500 Javelin missiles to Ukraine, but an unknown number of launchers. Given how important they are, the U.S. and Ukraine don’t want to tip off Russia to how many Ukraine possesses.

Switchblade Drone

What it is: Lightweight kamikaze drone | Cost per unit: $220,000 (Switchblade 600] | Units pledged by the U.S.: 700+ | Range: 25 miles

The evocative official term for the Switchblade is “loitering munition drone,” which means it remains airborne over an enemy and then attacks quickly at speeds of over 100 mph once a target is identified. The U.S. has sent two versions to Ukraine: The smaller 300 weighs about 5.5 pounds and uses a fragmentation warhead that explodes like a shotgun over the target. The larger 600 weighs about 50 pounds and packs a warhead similar to the one on a Javelin anti-tank missile. Switchblade is carried and launched from a portable tube. Once airborne, its wings extend, and an electric propeller sends it toward a target area.

Snipex Alligator

What it is: High-powered sniper rifle | Cost per unit: N/A | Units pledged: N/A | Range: 4 miles

The immense size and power of this long gun make it especially useful for Ukraine, as both sides dig into trenches and hardened battlefield positions. Combatants are fighting across greater distances, which is where the Snipex sniper rifle excels. When assembled, it exceeds six and a half feet in length, more than twice the size of a typical hunting rifle, with a 47-inch barrel. It can fire its 14.5x144mm round up to four miles and has enough force to pierce the defenses of lightly armored vehicles. The gun’s maker claims it will penetrate 9mm armor from nearly a mile away. That makes it especially valuable to Ukrainian soldiers, who can use it to take out adversaries, damage radar and communication equipment, immobilize vehicles, or destroy enemy weapons. Another benefit: Unlike other weapons on the list, this one is made in Ukraine, although it’s unclear how many the maker has provided to Ukrainian soldiers or whether it is still producing the weapon. The company is based in Kharkiv, about 185 miles west of Luhansk, where Russia recently mobilized additional troops and fierce fighting continues.

HARM Anti-Radiation Missile

What it is: An air-launched missile that hunts ground-based radar systems | Cost per unit: $200,000 | Units pledged by the U.S.: N/A | Range: 30 miles

One of America’s most capable weapons reached Ukraine this summer, and it quickly made an impact. The AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) was designed to be fired from U.S.-built F-16 and F/A-18 fighter jets, so Ukraine first had to learn how to modify its MiG-29 jets to fit the 14-foot-long, 800-pound missile. Once launched, HARM races toward enemy radars using an antenna in the nose. Before it’s detected, its fragmentation warhead explodes just prior to impact, disabling radar with a violent spray of shrapnel. The benefit is immediate, crippling the opponent’s air defenses. Without radar, they can’t identify, track, or accurately fire missiles at incoming planes or missiles.

Phoenix Ghost Drone

What it is: An experimental kamikaze drone with a long range | Cost per unit: N/A | Units delivered by the U.S.: Approx. 1,800 | Range: 100+ miles (estimated)

So far, the U.S. has resisted providing Ukraine with long-range offensive weapons, especially cruise missiles or longer-range ATACMS munitions that can be fired from the HIMARS launcher. It fears those weapons would escalate the war, possibly leading Russia to attack a NATO country. Ukraine, however, says it needs weapons like these to launch a counteroffensive and to take back Crimea and other territory claimed by Russia. While the two sides debate, the U.S. has supplied another weapon to help Ukraine’s offensive efforts. Little is known about the Phoenix Ghost, except that this one-way kamikaze drone is an experimental weapon first tested in Afghanistan. The drone is believed to have a range of more than 100 miles, and it can carry a warhead powerful enough to take out medium-armored targets—anything up to a battle tank. It has infrared sensors to fly at night and can stay aloft for six hours. That should make it very effective against Russia’s heavy artillery, at least until the U.S. or another of Ukraine’s allies releases the big guns.

Leopard 2 Tank

What it is: Powerful and accurate main battle tank | Cost per unit: $8.8 million + | Units delivered: 54 pledged from Germany, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Norway | Range: 311 miles (estimated)

The Kampfpanzer Leopard 2, which Germany designed and built in the 1970s, is one of the most widely used tanks in the world, and is by far the most popular tank in NATO’s inventory. It was so advanced for its time that even the mighty American M1 Abrams has some Leopard 2 DNA in it. Now, nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO is set to send up to 54 Leopard 2s to energize the Ukrainian army. The tanks, sent from NATO nations including Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal, will arm Kyiv with a better, more powerful tank fleet than ever before. In small numbers or large, however, the Leopard 2 would be a much better tank than anything fielded by the mighty Russian Armed Forces.

The Leopard 2 is a 55-ton main battle tank . It’s armed with a 120-millimeter smoothbore gun and two 7.62-millimeter machine guns. A crew of four operates the tank, including a commander, gunner, loader, and driver. It’s powered by an MTU MB 873 12-cylinder, water-cooled diesel engine, producing 1,500 horsepower. This results in a ratio of 27 horsepower per ton, enough to drive it to a top speed of 42 miles per hour. The tank’s Rheinmetall Rh-120 120-millimeter smoothbore main gun is managed by one of the most advanced fire-control systems in the world, with a ballistic computer, laser range finder, and thermal night vision that make it the equal of the American M1 Abrams. This allows the tank to engage targets with high first-round hit accuracy, day or night, and even engage moving enemy targets through enemy smoke screens. According to Rheinmetall , a round fired by the Rh-120 gun is supersonic as it leaves the muzzle, traveling at up to 5,692 feet per second. (A .30-06 rifle bullet, on the other hand, travels at just 3,000 feet per second .) The Rh-120 is highly accurate while shooting on the move due to a two-axis stabilization system that counteracts the tank’s movement against the position of the Rh-120 gun barrel. As Russia continues to assault cities in Eastern Ukraine, and plans for a major new offensive, the Leopards power and accuracy could make it one of the most critical weapons determining the war's outcome. —Kyle Mizokami

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​What is the Real Price of russian Missiles: About the Cost of 'Kalibr', Kh-101 and 'Iskander' Missiles

Detailed explanation, why Kh-101 is not worth $13 mln and "Kalibr" doesn’t cost 6.5 mln as well, and what numbers are more realistic

When we talk about Ukrainian air defense taking down russian missiles, many people try to count them up in terms of money and represent the result, lets’ say, today a $400-600 worth of missiles was taken down. The trend was launched by Ukrainian Forbes edition, that uses the following evaluations:

• Kh-101 – 13 million USD
• Kalibr – 6.5 mln
• Iskander (without specification of the type) – 3 mln
• Oniks – 1.25 mln
• Kh-22 – 1 mln
• Tochka-U – 0.3 mln

On the part of Defense Express, we’d like to avoid engaging in an indirect discussion with our colleagues, but that data has gone viral throughout other media outlets and some public figures, sometimes without mentioning the source, thus we should bring in a point to consider.

Read more: How Many Years russia Needs to Restore Stocks of Missiles - Named the date

The problem with Forbes’ evaluation is that it doesn’t mention the method for estimating the cost. The only figure known for sure where it comes from is the "cost" of a "Kalibr" cruise missile – 6.5 million US dollars per unit. Most likely, the information comes from the India-russia 2006 contract on the purchase of 28 Klub-S 3M-14E missiles (export version of the "Kalibr") worth $184 million. This way, a single unit should cost 6.5 million.

However, the contract includes not only the missiles themselves but related services as well. Moreover, the cost of this export contract depends on the "appetite" of the russian state "Rosoboronexport" and the extras charged from a foreign buyer. We already covered how this approach already led to russia gradually losing its leading positions on the world arms market.

Back to the point, when it comes to the production of missiles for the russian defense ministry, the outcome will comprise the actual production cost, a relatively small and regulated income for the manufacturer and an additional (traditional) russian "corruption surcharge".

In other words, the real cost of a Kalibr is definitely not 6.5 mln per missile. But the figure has become a reference point for the evaluation of a Kh-101 cost, which is said to be 13 million USD. Presumably, journalists got this figure by multiplying the cost of Kalibr by two.

As for the Iskander missile which may refer either to the ballistic 9M723 or the cruise R-500, they came up with a price tag of $3 mln. Despite the fact that a modern ballistic missile would be much more expensive than any cruise missile because of costlier components and technologies involved in the production process.

Now about the "Oniks". Media use the cost of $1.25 million, while ignoring that in India, its localized and updated version Brahmos costs $4.85 mln per missile. This is according to the Indian Business Standard newspaper who managed to take a photo of the contract signed this September.

Preliminary estimates say the older versions of Brahmos with a range of 300 km cost India $3.2 to $3.5 million per missile. This number looks more like an actual worth of a supersonic missile with an active homing head.

Kh-22 air-to-surface missile which was made from the late '60s or '70s till the end of production in around the late '80s is even more difficult to evaluate for certain. USSR’s planned economy, issues of conversion of Soviet rubles into dollars whilst taking into account inflation – all of that on top of the fact that even the approximate cost was never disclosed.

Finally, the $300,000 for a ballistic missile for the "Tochka-U" missile, which is roughly three Javelin missiles. If that was the case, Ukraine, which uses this system, too, would have already bought everything it could from its post-Soviet allies in the war against russia.

Indeed, the talk on costs for weapon systems, especially when russia keeps all the orders on military equipment classified, is beyond difficult. However, we can try and look at some of the corresponding weapon products with disclosed prices.

For example, the most modern Tomahawk missile in the Block V version in the U.S. Army costs $2 mln per unit in the 2022 fiscal year. Publicly available documents from the U.S. Marine Corps says just that.

With that in mind, a Kalibr may cost $6.5 mln only in conditions of astronomical corruption inside the russian ministry of defense which is of course cannot be ruled out, but not enough reason to multiply the price tag by several times.

We should also consider that the Tomahawk’s cost of production is significantly higher than that one of a Kalibr. Now, as we keep all that in mind, we can cautiously assume that one such missile costs russian navy about $1 mln at most, or even less. In russia, local media usually stick to $300,000 or $350,000.

The same price could be applied to the R-500 missile for the Iskander system and the Kh-555 air-launched missile, considering the use of similar technologies and parts in production. A bit more expensive one should be the Kh-101 if we take into account the attempt to make it a "stealth missile".

To deal with the 9M723 ballistic missile for the Iskander system, we can refer to the cost of an ATACMS missile for the family of American artillery rocket systems. For example, in 2012, the United States sold 70 M39 Block 1A missiles to Finland for $132 million, i.e. $1.88 million for one "conditional" missile. We say "conditional" because this contract also included additional services and profit from the export agreement.

Though worth mentioning, the same missile cost about $820,000 per unit for the U.S. Army back in the '90s. With inflation, it’s around $1.59 mln in 2022, but it does not represent the real contemporary value, as the technologies inside that missile were on the '90s level, and more importantly, such missiles are not in production anymore, replaced by more modern variants .

That is why we cannot simply compare the 9M723 for Iskander system with a less technologically advanced M39 ATACMS: greater range and additional systems make a difference. And the fact that the worth of export contracts to Armenia and Algeria were not disclosed, doesn’t help in the matter.

So just to be more familiar with the topic as we wait for detailed information, let’s assume the cost of a ballistic missile for Iskander is somewhere between 1.6 and 2 million USD, bearing in mind it could be higher for the version with a homing head.

And this is how we get a picture, a purely presumable one , of the missiles’ price list for the russian ministry of defense:

• Kh-101 – approx. up to $1.2 mln
• "Kalibr" cruise missile – approx. up to $1 mln
• "Iskander", R-500 cruise – approx. up to $1 mln
• "Iskander", 9M723 ballistic – approx. up to $2 mln
• "Oniks" – approx. $3mln

However, the thing is, according to the new law, in the russian federation, the very notion of weapons cost was canceled in a way that the market economy implies. Now, russian defense ministry determines all the conditions of the contract, including the price. At the same time, the contractor cannot refuse to take such a contract, the penalty is 10 years of imprisonment .

Read more: SAMP/T Air Defense System For Ukraine: Why It Is the Best Option That Europe Can Deliver, Its Specifications And How It Works

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Russia’s Estimated Storage of Cruise Missiles, May 2023

Publication: eurasia daily monitor volume: 20 issue: 81, by: pavel luzin.

May 18, 2023 06:36 PM Age: 12 months

The massive Russian missile attacks against Ukraine in recent days together with evidence of the increasing efficiency of Ukraine’s air and missile defense make it necessary to re-examine the state of Russia’s arsenal of cruise, ballistic and air-launched missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers ( Ukrainska Pravda , May 17; The Moscow Times ; Kyiv Independent , May 18). The following estimates do not pretend to be complete or unquestionable, but they intend to initiate expert discussion regarding the correct assessment and understanding of Russia’s actual military capabilities. The proposed estimates are based on official Ukrainian data of those Russian missiles fired during the war, as published in the previous several months, as well as on expert estimates of Russia’s missile storage made in previous years and fragmented data from Russian sources regarding domestic production rates. It should be taken into account that the estimates presented below may be adjusted as new data appears.

For its part, Ukraine regularly publishes available statistics of each Russian missile attack, including the number and types of missiles (if available) and the number of fired and intercepted missiles. However, these statistics usually do not include missiles that detonated immediately or soon after firing. Overall, it is likely that the number of such missiles is insignificant. On January 3, the Ukrainian Armed Forces published an assessment of Russia’s missile storage and production rates ( Twitter.com/oleksiireznikov , January 6). Based on this data, the picture of the Russian arsenal of cruise, tactical ballistic and air-launched missiles with a range over 300 kilometers after the latest attack on May 18 is estimated as follows:

Of course, Ukraine may have revised its assessment of production rates since January 2023, but that re-assessment has not yet been published in open sources.

However, this author’s estimates of Russia’s missile storage on the eve of the full-scale invasion against Ukraine and of domestic production rates differ from the official Ukrainian data (Data for this assessment was compiled from the following sources: Kommersant , October 24, 2006; NPO Saturn , 2016; Voennaya mysl’ , No. 4, 2019; ODK-Saturn , April 4, 2018; Kommersant , September 5, 2018; Dfnc.ru , January 27, 2019; Zvezda , January 31, 2020; Zakupki.gov.ru , 2022; ODK-Saturn , 2022.). Therefore, the actual picture of Russia’s missile arsenal could be as follows:

Despite the fact that this assessment of the actual production rates of cruise missiles in Russia is much lower than the Ukrainian one, the amount of remaining missiles in Russian storage is still higher for this alternative evaluation. The problem here is that the average annual production rates are considered to be stable for 2022–2023 as compared to the previous years, as it was impossible to clarify whether Russian missile factories were already capable of increase their manufacturing rates significantly. Consequently, the possibility remains that this assessment of production rates should be increased in the coming weeks, especially in relation to Kalibr, Kh-101 and Iskander-K missiles.

Nevertheless, it is clear that Russia will need several years to restore the arsenal of missiles that it possessed on the eve of the war. Furthermore, even if Russian missile producers were capable of increasing production rates significantly, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Moscow to maintain these heightened rates in the long-term considering Western sanctions on key components and industrial equipment needed to produce these munitions, as well as a severe personnel deficit in Russia’s defense industry. In truth, the more critical bottleneck here has likely not been for microchips or other electronics, but rather for the technical industrial equipment necessary for the manufacturing of missile engines.

Thus, it remains to be seen how these usage and production rates will affect Russian strategy in the long term. But to be sure, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been effective and resilient in wearing down the enemy ahead of their oft-discussed and much-anticipated counteroffensive.

Russian missiles pound power plants in central and western Ukraine

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• Zelenskiy says gas transit supplying EU targeted
• Power company says four thermal power facilities hit
• Ukraine urgently needs more air defences, it says
• Ukraine attacks two Russian refineries, source says

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A Russian missile attack killed three people and injured three others in the Ukrainian port of Odesa early on Wednesday, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said.

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The US is rushing to get new Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine before Russia can destroy more targets

• The Pentagon said it would "rush" Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine.
• The announcement comes as Russia targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Patriot missiles would not be a "silver bullet."

The US will "rush" Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine as part of a military aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.

Speaking on Friday, Austin said that the US would send "critical interceptors" to Ukraine for its Patriot systems as part of a $6 billion deal.

Austin's comments come as Russia hit parts of Ukraine with a large missile strike on Friday, targeting energy facilities and power plants in several regions.

Russia launched a total of 34 missiles at Ukraine by air, ground, and sea, Mykola Oleshchuk, the head of Ukraine's air force, wrote on Telegram .

The barrage included Iskander ballistic missiles, Kh-59 cruise missiles, and ship-launched Kalibr missiles, among others, he added.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook that Russia had targeted facilities in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv, adding that there had been "damage to equipment."

DTEK, a power operator, said equipment at four of its thermal power plants was "severely damaged" in the attacks.

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Austin warned against thinking of Patriot missiles as a "silver bullet" against such strikes, however.

"It's not just Patriots that they [the Ukrainians] need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well," Austin said. "I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet."

The think tank the Institute for the Study of War said in an update on the conflict that while no single weapon could be thought of as a "silver bullet," the Patriot was "one of the very few air defense systems able to engage Russian ballistic missiles and also to hit Russian fighter-bombers outside the range of Russian glide bombs."

It comes after the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Spain would also send Patriot missiles to Ukraine amid increasing pressure from its EU and NATO allies.

The report said Spain would deliver "a very limited number" of the missiles due to their high cost and because the country's war reserve was about only around 50 units.

Both the US and Spain decided not to send launchers for the Patriot system, however.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for allies to send more Patriot systems to Ukraine.

He said earlier this month that Ukraine needed "seven more Patriots or similar air defense systems" to defend its cities from Russian strikes.

"'Patriots' can only be called air defense systems if they work and save lives rather than standing immobile somewhere in storage bases," Zelenskyy added on X.

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UK Secretary of Defence Reveals Italian Supply of Storm Shadow Missiles to Ukraine

UK’s Secretary of Defence unveiled that Italy, along with France and the UK, has supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP EG cruise missiles to Kyiv, and urged Germany to provide Taurus missiles. This is the first time Italy is said to be among the nations supplying this type of missile to Ukraine.

“I do think the Storm Shadow has been an extraordinary weapon,” said UK’s Secretary of Defence Grant Shapps during a recent visit to the MBDA production site where the Storm Shadow cruise missiles are assembled, according to The Times . “It’s the UK, France and Italy positioning those weapons for use, particularly in Crimea. These weapons are making a very significant difference.”

This is the first time Italy is said to be among the nations supplying this type of missile to Ukraine: the Italian government has not officially announced the transfer, keeping the usual “low profile” when it deals with sensitive matters like weapons donations or procurements.

At the end of March the Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto said the value of the authorized 2023 exports to Kyiv had reached 417 million Euro. While the Parliament approved the decree which extended the authorization for the transfer of military vehicles, materials and equipment to Ukraine throughout 2024, the exact list of weapons is classified, even if most of the equipment supplied by Rome was made known by the Kyiv authorities or by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself.

We have no reason to believe Shapps made a gross mistake mentioning Italy among the suppliers of the Storm Shadow, although this is still a possibility. Anyway, we’ll see whether the Italian MOD will confirm, deny or simply not comment the supply in the next few days.

The Storm Shadow missile

The MBDA Storm Shadow missile is a stealthy weapon weighing 1,300 kg and measuring over 5 meters in length. It is specifically designed for attacking heavily fortified and valuable targets from stand-off distance, ensuring aircraft and crews remain out of harm’s way even in high-threat environments and adverse weather conditions. The missile was first used in combat during the 2011 Libya Air War by RAF and Italian Tornado jets.

Publicly available information indicates that the Storm Shadow is equipped with a 450 kg conventional warhead and boasts an impressive range exceeding 250 km. The extended reach of the Storm Shadow missile provides the Ukrainian military with enhanced operational flexibility and the capability to engage targets at far greater distances than previously possible.

Italy has procured the Storm Shadow in 1999, and since then, the Italian Air Force has received about 200 Storm Shadow missiles, that the service has extensively used during Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011, with the Tornado IDS being, at that time, the launch platform. Each missile costs approximately 2.6 million Euro (about 3M USD).

The Italian Storm Shadows are used by the Tornado IDS, although the missile is also integrated with the Eurofighter Typhoon .

In Ukraine, the Storm Shadows missiles are carried in combat by the Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 Fencer .

The Storm Shadow missile, developed by MBDA, is a formidable precision-guided munition designed for striking high-value targets with exceptional accuracy and stand-off capability. This weapon, known for its stealthy profile and advanced navigation system, offers a robust solution for engaging hardened and well-protected targets while minimizing the risk to aircraft and crews.

Compared to other similar weapons like the Scalp EG and the Taurus missile, the Storm Shadow stands out for its unique combination of range, precision, and payload capacity.

The SCALP EG (Système de Croisière Autonome à Longue Portée – Emploi Général / Long Range Autonomous Cruise Missile System – General Purpose) is the French variant of the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile, which has been in use in Ukraine since May 2023. Just like the Storm Shadow, the SCALP EG is carried by the Fencer by using modified Tornado pylons .

Use in combat in Ukraine

Russia alleged that Ukraine employed Storm Shadow missiles to target industrial sites in Luhansk on May 13, 2023, shortly after the missiles’ delivery was announced. According to reports from Russian media, these cruise missiles were launched from Su-24s, supported by MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters equipped with AGM-88 HARMs . Ukrainian forces also utilized UAVs and ADM-160 MALD decoys to distract Russian air defenses and safeguard the aircraft and ordnance from interception.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov claimed in late May that the missiles had a perfect hit rate, although Russia’s Defense Ministry asserted that they had intercepted some.

In a significant incident on June 12, 2023, a Storm Shadow strike led to the death of Major General Sergey Goryachev in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, then Chief of Staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army. Subsequently, on June 22, a Storm Shadow missile targeted the Chonhar road bridge linking Crimea with Kherson Oblast, disrupting Russian logistics. A Storm Shadow missile crashed mostly intact in Zaporizhzhia in early July, with TASS reporting that Russian forces shot it down and retrieved the wreckage to study the missile’s design for countermeasures.

On July 9, 2023, a Storm Shadow/SCALP missile was intercepted by Russian air defense and later recovered. Another significant strike occurred on July 29, 2023, when a Storm Shadow or SCALP missile hit the Chongar Strait railway bridge between occupied Crimea and Kherson Oblast. On Sept. 13, 2023, similar missiles targeted Sevastopol port, causing severe damage to the Rostov na Donu submarine and reportedly irreparable damage to the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk.

Further strikes with Storm Shadow and/or SCALP missiles occurred on Sept. 22, 2023, hitting the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. Ukrainian military sources claimed that the attack targeted a meeting of Russian Navy leadership, resulting in casualties including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Lastly, on December 26, 2023, two Storm Shadow or SCALP missiles were believed to have targeted the Russian-occupied port of Feodosia, damaging the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk and leaving it ablaze.

A message to Germany

In the same interview with the Times, Shapps sent also a message to Germany, which has decided against supplying its Taurus cruise missiles—comparable to the Storm Shadow—to Ukraine due to logistical concerns and the potential for escalating the conflict.

Shapps is adamant that they should reconsider. “France, Britain, and Italy have all shown that the Taurus, Storm Shadow, or Scalp [another iteration of the cruise missile] are highly effective. While they’re in limited supply, Germany has many available. Therefore, yes, they should absolutely be provided. It would clearly make a significant impact.”

The Taurus KEPD 350 is a German/Swedish missile that is manufactured by Taurus Systems GmbH, a partnership between MBDA Germany and Saab Dynamics. The missile has characteristics similar to the Storm Shadow, with a range of +500 kilometres (300 mi), and a speed of Mach 0.8-0.9.

• Italian Air Force
• Storm Shadow
• Ukrainian Air Force

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Russia Deploying Three Cruise Missile Carriers to Mediterranean Sea: Kyiv

R ussia has deployed three more cruise missile carriers to the Mediterranean Sea with a total of 20 missiles, the Ukrainian Navy said on Wednesday.

"As of 07:00 on April 24, 2024, there are no enemy ships in the Black Sea, one enemy ship in the Sea of Azov, and seven enemy ships in the Mediterranean Sea, including three carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles with a total salvo of up to 20 missiles," the navy said on its Telegram channel.

Earlier this month, Lieutenant Commander Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said Russia has been deploying ships in the Mediterranean Sea, including its Kalibr missile carriers, as part of a tactic to expand its military presence in other regions, not just in Ukraine.

In January, Kyiv's navy said Russia had deployed three ships in the Mediterranean, including two Kalibr carriers. In February, the Ukrainian Navy said there were two Russian ships in the Mediterranean Sea, including one vessel armed with up to eight Kalibr cruise missiles, still according to the Ukrainian Navy.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

"We should not forget that there is also a rather complex geopolitical situation there. We should not forget that the Russian Federation sees geopolitical competitors not only in Ukraine. Therefore, they, of course, are trying to spread their military presence in other regions where they have interests," said Pletenchuk in remarks published by RBC-Ukraine on April 21.

Pletenchuk added that Russia typically deploys ships on rotation, and that there is "the simultaneous presence of several units" in the Mediterranean Sea.

"In general, they have a permanent naval operational connection there, so they have been present there for many years. What tasks they perform—that's a different story," he said.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's forces in the south of the country, said in early April that Russia has been limiting the use of its sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles due to logistical issues .

"For the Russians, it is now problematic both to deliver missiles and to service the missile installations that launch the Kalibrs, and to reload with Kalibrs," said Humeniuk in remarks reported by Ukrainian media on April 2.

Humeniuk, who has since been dismissed, said much of the logistics and infrastructure involved in firing the cruise missiles is based in the port city of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea, where Russia stations part of its prized Black Sea Fleet.

The Black Sea Fleet has been targeted by Ukraine as it seeks to reverse Russian President Vladimir Putin 's 2014 annexation of the peninsula. Its flagship, Moskva , was attacked and sunk in April 2022. In September 2023, a missile attack by Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol reportedly killed a number of leading officers and destroyed a Russian submarine.

"It is now very problematic for missile carriers to get there," Humeniuk added.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via [email protected].

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Britain to deploy homegrown hypersonic missile by 2030

UK military chiefs want to catch up with China, Russia and the US

Britain plans to equip the Armed Forces with a homegrown hypersonic cruise missile by the end of the decade, The Telegraph has learnt.

Military chiefs want a weapon capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 5 as the Government races to catch up with China , Russia and the US.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has insisted that the new weapon be designed and built entirely in Britain and is understood to have set a deadline of 2030 for it to enter service.

The project has been identified by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as one destination for a planned £75 billion uplift in the defence budget over the next six years .

A government defence source said: “Cutting-edge projects like this are only possible because of the massive new investment the Government has made this week in defence innovation.

“With Labour refusing to match our investment, continuing this project would be impossible under Keir Starmer – the military would be forced to cut the hypersonic programme, in a move that would make Putin’s dreams come true.”

The missile plans are understood still to be at an early stage, with no decision taken so far on whether it would be launched from land, sea or air.

One option is a weapon that could be fitted to a fighter jet like the Typhoon or F-35, which would have a shorter range and smaller payload than a larger weapon launched from the ground. The missile could also be launched from one of the UK’s warships.

The project is being managed directly by MoD headquarters in Whitehall, rather than by one of the three armed services.

Since late last year, the MoD has been running a consortium of around 80 companies to come up with possible designs.

The Hypersonic Technologies & Capability Development Framework Agreement was launched in December in what has been described as a “national mission”.

Sources involved in the project said the construction of the missiles would be especially difficult because some of the materials required do not yet exist, and must be developed from scratch to withstand the high temperatures that come with hypersonic speeds.

Engineers are also working on a British version of a “scramjet” engine, which uses compressed air moving at supersonic speeds to aid the combustion of liquid or solid fuel.

The MoD declined to comment in detail on the plans, citing national security concerns, but a spokesman said: “We are pursuing hypersonic technologies to further develop UK sovereign advanced capabilities. We continue to invest in our equipment to meet current and future threats.”

Most missile projects work as international collaborations between the UK and at least one foreign ally, making the hypersonic cruise missile project unusual.

A separate project could see the UK acquire an even faster and more sophisticated type of hypersonic weapon, known as a glide vehicle, through the AUKUS partnership with the United States and Australia.

Hypersonic missiles, which operate at significantly faster speeds than standard cruise missiles, have the ability to evade an opponent’s air defences by travelling at more than 4,000 miles per hour and manoeuvring in mid-flight.

The US has already successfully tested a hypersonic cruise missile, which it says is vital to keep pace with missile technology in Russia and China, which both claim to have developed similar technology.

Joe Biden, the US president, has described Russian hypersonic missiles launched at Ukrainian cities as being “almost impossible to stop”.

The US has several hypersonic missile programmes. They have suffered months of delays and failures, but a recent test flight over the Pacific Ocean was a success, and Washington hopes to have its first hypersonic weapons in service as early as next year.

Earlier this month, North Korea claimed it had successfully tested a new hypersonic missile that could evade South Korean and US air defences, but this claim has been described as “greatly exaggerated”.

China has developed land, sea and air-based hypersonic weapons, including the DF-ZF glide vehicle that entered service in 2018 and is said to be capable of speeds approaching Mach 10.

At that speed, a missile with a long enough range could travel the circumference of the Earth in just over three hours.

Western experts have cast doubt on claims by Russia and North Korea to have produced a true hypersonic missile, with Moscow’s Kinzhal claim to the title dubbed “at best questionable”.

Ballistic missiles, including the Trident system used in British and US nuclear submarines, can already travel at speeds of over Mach 20, but are easier to shoot down because they travel on a predictable trajectory.

The UK is prepared to invest up to £1 billion in its hypersonic project through the defence consortium in the next seven years, although sources said missiles could be purchased from the US if a future defence review found they were needed sooner.

The competition over hypersonics, which has been compared to the start of the Cold War arms race in the 1950s, has prompted debate over whether the missiles are worth their high price tag.

James Black, the assistant director of defence research at Rand Europe, a think tank, said that while the missiles offered “some military benefits”, the money may be better spent on existing technology.

“High cost and enduring challenges to technical feasibility mean that such weapons, if and when they become available to the UK armed forces, are likely to only be available in very small numbers,” he said.

“This raises questions about whether the UK would be better off increasing its stockpiles of cheaper precision weapons and other munitions rather than purchasing too many ‘exquisite’ hypersonic weapons that may be overkill for most targets.”

Once the UK has developed its own hypersonic weapon, it will be shared with the US and Australia in exchange for collaboration on other projects, including AI, quantum technology, hypersonics and undersea drones.

• Rishi Sunak,
• Conservative Party,
• Ministry of Defence,
• Defence industry
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