Winged and tactical: What missile weapons does Russia use to attack Ukrainian cities?

For a month, we have all seen the Russian Federation shell Ukrainian towns and villages with Kalibr cruise missiles and Iskander operational-tactical missiles. Today, I'd like to explain the classification of these missiles so that everyone is aware of the weapons used to destroy Ukrainians and the threats it poses.

Kalibr.

What is the main danger of this weapon? The first is its speed, which ranges from 180 to 240 m/s. The second is that it can fly at low altitudes and maneuver while taking into account the terrain. This makes it impossible for Ukrainian and NATO air defense systems to operate effectively.

The Kalibr missile system has a range of several hundred to 2.5 thousand kilometers depending on classification. Thus, the range of Kalibr missiles at sea is 375 km and 2,600 km on land. The flight range is limited to 300 km in the export modification.

Russia first used Kalibr cruise missiles in 2015, when several missile strikes were fired from boats in the Caspian Sea at armed opposition bases in Syria. Since then, Russia has used Kalibr missiles not only as military weapons, but also to exert military-diplomatic pressure on other countries, including Ukraine.

From 2015 until the war's intensification in 2022, Russian Federation rhetoric emphasized the possibility of Kalibr bombing or rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical and military infrastructure.
Kalibr missiles can have several modifications. There are ship-launched,  submarine- launched, air-launched (Kalibr-A) missiles and variants for land attack use.

The Russian Federation is armed with the following weapons:

• Kalibr submarine missile systems (Kalibr-PLE, Club-S system);

• missile systems for surface warship armament (Kalibr-NKE, Club-N);

• Mobile missile systems Kalibr-M (Club-M);

• Kalibr-A (Club-A) air-based missile systems

What is happening now? The first missile strikes were made on February 24 with the use of Kalibr, then there were 16 launches of these cruise missiles.

The second type of weapon I would like to focus on is the so-called Iskanders. These are operational and tactical missile systems. The Russians refer to it as the primary missile shield or the main response to NATO countries. On February 24, 2022, 65 launches took place on Ukrainian territory.

In fact, Iskander launchers can use cruise missiles as well as quasi-ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 500 km. This makes it possible to use them in local conflicts, as is currently the case.

Russia's Iskander-M ballistic missiles, which were launched on Ukrainian territory, are capable of deceiving air defense radars and thermal search missiles.

There were mentions of the use of Iskanders during the Karabakh conflict. Iskander missile fragments were discovered near the town of Shusha. The Azerbaijani side then demonstrated the remains of these missiles, accusing the Armenian side of using them during the active phase of the military conflict.
Armenian President Pashinyan said the missiles were ineffective and even partially accused Russia of supplying substandard weapons. The Russian leadership reacted nervously to this. They claimed that the Iskander missiles were never used by the Armenian Armed Forces and that all allegations were unfounded.

The third missile that can be used and is currently used by the occupiers in the war against Ukraine - is actually a tactical complex Tochka-U. Range of damage - up to 150 km. In fact, it is a morally obsolete weapon, but it is effective. Tochka-U is a guided missile that provides a circular probable deviation of about 150 m.
It is used by both the Russian occupation forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The tactical complex Tochka -U uses missiles with warheads weighing 482 kg, which can be equipped with various types of warheads, including nuclear.

Air-to-ground missiles

Russia has used them in recent days to attack the Armed Forces and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv.
These missiles were launched from Tu-22 M3 aircraft that were flying over Russian territory at the time, in the Kursk and Voronezh regions.

The occupying army used this missile armament complex against the civilian population and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

To be continued.
 
Glory to Ukraine!
 
D. Snegiryov