A previously unknown anti-aircraft munition appeared in the background of the head of state's video address on the occasion of the professional holiday of defense-industrial complex workers.
A previously unknown anti-aircraft munition appeared in the background of the head of state's video address on the occasion of the professional holiday of defense-industrial complex workers.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly "highlighted" a new domestically produced missile being developed for air defense systems for the first time, Defense Blog reports .
Next to the new development, already well-known systems created during the full-scale war were in the frame: the Vilkha guided missile, the Neptune cruise missile, and the Areion missile.
As analysts at Defence Blog note, the appearance of this missile is one of the clearest evidence that Ukraine's program to create its own air defense systems has successfully gone beyond concepts and mock-ups. Judging by its appearance and previously presented exhibition models, the frame shows an industrial sample of the Koral project missile, which has been kept secret until now.
The authorities have not yet disclosed the official name of the complex, technical details or range of destruction. However, based on previous presentations, experts assume that the missile belongs to the class of medium-range air defense and is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 30 to 50 km. It is being created to protect military formations, infrastructure and rear facilities from enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and certain types of drones. In the future, these systems should replace the outdated Soviet complexes "Buk" and S-300PT in the armament of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A feature of domestic development is the focus on already proven components: engine, homing head, pulse correction engines, inertial navigation system and non-contact (radio or laser) fuse. The use of ready-made subsystems allows Ukraine to significantly accelerate development and reduce technical risks in wartime conditions.
The program itself remains top secret. It is not yet known whether the weapon has passed combat testing or whether its mass production has begun.
As a reminder, the head of the subcommittee on state security, defense, and defense innovations, Fedir Venislavsky, stated that Ukraine conducted at least two successful launches of rocket carriers into space during a full-scale war.
