Ukraine successfully tests new missiles
The Oskol unguided aircraft missiles have successfully passed another stage of government testing, which involved a Su-24M bomber crew from a brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The press service of Ukroboronprom (Ukrainian state-owned arms manufacturer), an association of Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, reported that the RS-80 Oskol’s compliance with tactical and technical requirements and readiness for use in military planes had been confirmed in tests carried out in the client’s presence.
Ukroboronprom noted that the 80mm RS-80 Oskol has a supersonic flight speed and is intended to be used by helicopters, planes and ground platforms.
“The RS-80 is designed to destroy enemy personnel, armored vehicles, fortification structures and other targets. In order to ensure the most effective destruction of the enemy, the builders from the state joint-stock company Artem made provision for equipping the RS-80 with different warheads and detonators,” the report states.
For example, equipping the missile with a fragmentation warhead with a programmable detonator makes it possible to detonate the missile in the air, several meters from the target. Compared to normal detonation, which occurs once the missile hits the ground, detonation in the air sends a larger number of fragments toward the enemy, significantly increasing destructive effectiveness. The missile’s range for ground targets is more than 7 km, and it can also be equipped with high-explosive anti-tank warheads.
The Su-24 bomber is one of the most powerful planes in the Ukrainian Air Force, designed for missile and bomb strikes against enemy ground forces, and capable of carrying a wide range of weapons and up to 8 tons of munitions. It is equipped with variable-sweep wings, which improve aerodynamics in all flight modes, including supersonic speeds of up to 1700 km/h.
“Thanks to the Su-24M’s capabilities, the RS-80 Oskol was tested in all flight modes and under different weather conditions,” the report emphasizes.