Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev was shown the unnamed weapon during an inspection of Russia’s new military arsenal, with the Kremlin evidently in a rush to get new weapons to the war zone
Russia has given a brief glimpse of a ‘new cruise missile’ in new footage intended to show off its ‘promising’ new weapons systems. The shark-like nose of the unnamed weapon – seen at the Kapustin Yar test site – does not match Vladimir Putin’s widely known weapons and has puzzled defence and military experts.
It was shown to Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev – a war hawk – during an inspection of new firepower, with the Kremlin evidently in a rush to get new weapons to the warzone, despite Donald Trump’s efforts at obtaining a peace deal. No details were given of the cruise missile, with one theory that it is a mockup of prototype rather than the finished article. Medvedev was shown the launches of other new weapons.
READ MORE: Vladimir Putin’s ‘WW3 satellite’ linked to nukes is ‘spinning uncontrollably’ in space
War analyst Kirill Fyodorov said “nothing interesting” was revealed by the Medvedev footage “except for a couple of seconds, where we were briefly shown an unknown cruise missile. In appearance, it is a bit similar to the [Russian] Kh-101 – even the tail unit is similar, but it is clearly not one.”
Military Informant channel also referred to “a new unknown cruise missile demonstrated to Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to the Kapustin Yar test site in Astrakhan region. “The product resembles the American low-observability cruise missile AGM-158 JASSM, which has a very similar ‘pencil’ shape of the warhead.”
The new Russian weapon, only fleetingly shown, appears not to be the finished product, lacking flush rivets and smooth bonded joints. It may be a display or training version of a new missile, not an active one.
The Kapustin Yar test site was the launch site for Putin’s far larger Oreshnik nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic “wonder weapon” unleashed on Dnipro in Ukraine last year.
The showcasing of the mystery cruise missile comes after Russia was reported to have used a revamped Iranian-designed Shahed drone in attacks on Odesa last week.
It had a jet engine and “enhanced warhead”, making a horrific wailing sound as it slammed into targets in the Black Sea port city. Medvedev, an ex-Russian president and prime minister, now deputy head of the Kremlin’s security council, said he had seen “promising means of defeat” at the test site.
These included “rocket and barrel artillery, barrage munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-aircraft weapons”. He said: “We saw the launches of new rockets, increased anti-jamming protection and long-range projectiles for our main artillery systems.
“The growing need for these systems was discussed just three days ago at a meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission headed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Vladimir Putin]. Let us now discuss what has been achieved and the results.”
On Saturday, the Mirror reported how a dangerous Russian satellite suspected to be linked to a nuclear anti-satellite weapons program is “spinning uncontrollably” in space. Secretive Cosmos 2553, which was set off by Russia ahead of the Ukraine invasion in 2022, is thought now to be no longer operational.
The tech is said to be strong enough to wipe out satellite networks including Elon Musk’s Starlink internet system, which has helped Ukrainians in the war.
The latest concerns come after warnings from the US that the equipment aims to aid the development of a nuclear anti-satellite weapon. However, Vladimir Putin rejected the claims and said that Cosmos 2553 was for research purposes.
