IIRC, this might have been posted buried in one of the other threads. This requires its own thread. IMHO, this was not an "accident", or "Russians running out of munitions" as the story suggests. I also do not believe this missile was shot down. I believe it was landed intentionally where it could be found. This was a message.
Posted Today
Ukrainian air defense today eliminated an unusual Russian cruise missile.
Kh-555 missile. Image via open sources.
According to preliminary information, early this morning Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down two cruise missiles. One of them was a Kh-55 model (Russian designation X-55) which was originally developed to carry a nuclear payload. However, this specific missile did not contain any warhead at all – instead, it contained a dummy imitator of a nuclear warhead.
This surprising discovery raises some interesting questions. There is a chance that the Russian Federation is running out of conventional missiles of Kh-555 modification and they are using Kh-55 instead. If a nuclear charge was taken out, does this mean Russian soldiers forgot to put a conventional warhead in its place? Or, if a nuclear warhead was taken out, where is it now?
[IMG alt="Fragment of downed Kh-55 (X-55) missile. Image credit: Armed Forces of Ukraine via Defense Express
"]https://www.technology.org/texorgwp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/x-55-kh-55.jpg[/IMG]
Fragment of downed Kh-55 (X-55) missile. Image credit: Armed Forces of Ukraine via Defense Express
These questions will remain unanswered for now. However, this situation may be an indicator that the Russian Federation has passed a critical limit and has nearly exhausted the available stockpiles of conventional cruise missiles.
The portal Defense Express explains the key difference between these two missile types. Russia had used Kh-555 missiles to strike Ukraine before – these are “regular” rockets loaded with non-nuclear explosives. Meanwhile, the Kh-55 missile is the original model designed specifically to carry nuclear warheads.
Simply put, Kh-55 and Kh-555 use basically the same rocket, but with a different payload. Their warheads are structurally different and can be identified by experts relatively easily. This also means that it is possible to replace a nuclear warhead with a “conventional” alternative, which seems to be the case in today’s attack against Ukraine.
There is also a chance that this missile with a dummy warhead existed in its current form, and was simply used as a somewhat less-expensive decoy with the aim to misguide the Ukrainian Air Defense systems.
www.technology.org
Cruise missile with a dummy nuclear warhead lands in Ukraine – where is the real warhead?
Posted Today
Ukrainian air defense today eliminated an unusual Russian cruise missile.
Kh-555 missile. Image via open sources.
According to preliminary information, early this morning Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down two cruise missiles. One of them was a Kh-55 model (Russian designation X-55) which was originally developed to carry a nuclear payload. However, this specific missile did not contain any warhead at all – instead, it contained a dummy imitator of a nuclear warhead.
This surprising discovery raises some interesting questions. There is a chance that the Russian Federation is running out of conventional missiles of Kh-555 modification and they are using Kh-55 instead. If a nuclear charge was taken out, does this mean Russian soldiers forgot to put a conventional warhead in its place? Or, if a nuclear warhead was taken out, where is it now?
[IMG alt="Fragment of downed Kh-55 (X-55) missile. Image credit: Armed Forces of Ukraine via Defense Express
"]https://www.technology.org/texorgwp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/x-55-kh-55.jpg[/IMG]
Fragment of downed Kh-55 (X-55) missile. Image credit: Armed Forces of Ukraine via Defense Express
These questions will remain unanswered for now. However, this situation may be an indicator that the Russian Federation has passed a critical limit and has nearly exhausted the available stockpiles of conventional cruise missiles.
The portal Defense Express explains the key difference between these two missile types. Russia had used Kh-555 missiles to strike Ukraine before – these are “regular” rockets loaded with non-nuclear explosives. Meanwhile, the Kh-55 missile is the original model designed specifically to carry nuclear warheads.
Simply put, Kh-55 and Kh-555 use basically the same rocket, but with a different payload. Their warheads are structurally different and can be identified by experts relatively easily. This also means that it is possible to replace a nuclear warhead with a “conventional” alternative, which seems to be the case in today’s attack against Ukraine.
There is also a chance that this missile with a dummy warhead existed in its current form, and was simply used as a somewhat less-expensive decoy with the aim to misguide the Ukrainian Air Defense systems.
Cruise missile with a dummy nuclear warhead lands in Ukraine - where is the real warhead? - Technology Org
Ukrainian air defense today eliminated an unusual Russian cruise missile.
