🚨 Russia has found a cheaper alternative to Iskanders — and is already using it extensively against Ukraine Reuters reports that Moscow has begun mass-deploying RM48U missiles, originally designed as training targets for air-defense crews. They are now being launched from S-400 systems against ground targets. And the scale... is already significant: in July and early August, RM48Us accounted for more than half of the 228 ballistic and hypersonic missiles fired at Ukraine. The problem is that they are far less accurate — Ukrainian investigators estimate an average deviation of around 300 meters. At the same time, the missile carries a roughly 115-kilogram fragmentation warhead that detonates in the air and spreads fragments over a wide area. According to investigators, one such missile struck a railway platform in Kvitneve near Kyiv on August 5. Eight people were killed. For Russia, there is another advantage: cheaper RM48Us can be used to drain Ukraine’s interceptor stocks, while more capable missiles such as Iskanders, KN-23s and Zircons are preserved for later. In effect, Moscow is turning old training missiles into expendable weapons for overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses.show more

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