Is Russia Using Its Advanced KH-101 Cruise Missile In Ukraine For Precisions-Strikes?

Ukrainian military specialists have claimed that Russia has allegedly sent its improvised versions of Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) to Ukraine for precision-strikes.

These weapons will reportedly target critical ground targets. On Feb. 10, Russian occupiers targeted several areas by carrying out missile and drone strikes. At the time, the Russian military likely used Kh-101 ALCMs produced in the first quarter of 2023, EurAsian Times reported Wednesday.

The article also cited a report by Defense Express published last week, stating new features added to the Kh-101s were found inside one of the weapons that was shot down by Ukrainian air defense.

Earlier this month, EurAsian Times reported a nearly intact part of a Russian Kh-101 ALCM was reportedly found after it was downed in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region on Jan. 26. The inspection of the debris offered critical insights into some of its features.

The KH-101 is Russia's top-most capable ALCM. The first flight of this missile system came in 1998. It is said to be similar in features with the US AGM-158 JASSM air-launched cruise missile. However, experts say Russia's KH-101 has a striking longer range and can travel up to a distance of nearly 2,000 miles.

Russia has been upping its military weapons game as it is close to the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. Recently at the IDEX 2023 international arms show in Abu Dhabi, Russia unveiled its Tornado-S multi-target rocket system, which is similar to the US-made HIMARS.

"The Tornado-S control system unit allows for programming an individual flight assignment for each munition, which enables the combat vehicle to strike several targets in a salvo. The unit is based on a strap-down inertial navigation system and can assign each separate MLRS projectile a flight range and its trajectory. The precision-strike rockets have an effective range of over 100 km and the fire accuracy of Tornado-S projectiles is 15-20 times higher than that of the munitions used by the Smerch predecessor," Rostec State Corporation, which is marketing the weapon system in the Gulf region, said in a statement Monday.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the West of starting the Ukraine war, adding Moscow was "using force to stop it." His comments came at the state of the nation address. He also alleged the "West has suppressed media and is blocking investigations into corruption in their countries."