russia has modernized its Iskander-M ballistic missiles, complicating their interception by air defense systems, according to Yurii Ihnat, head of the Communications Directorate of the Ukrainian Air Force Command. He made the statement following a massive missile attack on Kyiv and several other regions.
"The Iskander-M missiles, which follow a ballistic trajectory, have been upgraded. They are now capable of deploying radar decoys during their final approach to the target," Ihnat said during a national telethon broadcast. According to him, this modernization affects the performance of systems like the Patriot SAM, making them less effective.
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“The main complication is that these missiles don’t fly on a straight path — they perform evasive maneuvers. For the Patriot system, which calculates the interception point using a software algorithm, predicting that point becomes more difficult,” Ihnat explained.
However, he stressed that while these upgrades complicate the interception process, they do not make it impossible.
"I believe our partners are working on improving countermeasures to ensure the air defense systems stay effective," Ihnat added.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that the United States had approved re-export of long-range rockets and Patriot missiles to Ukraine. An undisclosed source told the New York Times that 100 air defense missiles for the Patriot would be handed over to Ukraine without naming the donor alongside 125 artillery rockets to boot. Ukrainian forces may also receive two more Patriot batteries soon.
While modifications make missiles harder to intercept, in terms of scale, the production of ranged attack weapons is on decline in russia. Here's the dive into the U.S. intelligence assessment of missile arsenal of the russian federation featuring insights into the production volumes.
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