Military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Alexander Kovalenko shared his opinion on the development of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile, which, in his opinion, could be based on the experience of the domestic project of the Grom-2 missile system.
This project, as the expert noted, was about to be implemented before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, despite the fact that after the invasion the Thunder-2 project was no longer mentioned, work on it did not stop. Kovalenko is sure that the progress made during the development of the Grom-2 served to create a new ballistic missile, which most likely received a different name and improved characteristics.
Kovalenko also stressed that in the process of creating a new rocket, Western technologies could be used, which contributed to a significant improvement in its characteristics. According to the expert, if the basis for its development was the Grom-2, then this missile has average characteristics for the operational-tactical level, including a flight range of up to 500 kilometers.
He noted that this range allows to hit targets at a considerable distance, including Moscow. The expert believes that, given Ukraine’s recent successes in improving its weapons, the new missiles may have characteristics that exceed expectations.
In addition to the technical aspects, Kovalenko suggested that the cost of producing one such missile for Ukraine could range from $3.5 to $5 million. This highlights the significant financial and technological investment required to create such weapons and the potential difficulties Ukraine may face in the process of mass production of such missiles.
However, he is confident that these costs are justified, as such weapons significantly enhance the country’s defence capability and its ability to deter aggression.
Earlier, Kursor wrote that a fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian cruise missile with a machine gun.
A cruise missile was shot down by members of an anti-aircraft machine gun battalion on the border of the Transcarpathian and Lviv regions.
