Russia’s missile stockpile: A threat of 900 and rising

Analysts from the Ukrainian service Defence Express highlight that the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) report was primarily prepared with consideration of the American Golden Dome. For obvious reasons, it is also of great interest to Ukrainians.

According to American estimates, the Russian Federation currently possesses between 300 and 600 long-range cruise missiles, including Kh-101, R-500, and Kalibr missiles.

The course of the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that, in the case of cruise missiles, Russians most often attack with Kh-101 and Kalibr. The Kh-101 missile is launched from the air, while Kalibr was initially adapted for launching from surface ships and submarines. However, the Russians have since introduced a land variant, which is launched from the Iskander system launchers.

Regarding hypersonic missiles, the DIA report suggests that the stockpiles of the Russian Federation currently amount to approximately 200-300 units, including missiles such as the Zircon and Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, which are being used to attack Ukraine. These types of missiles travel at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 5), hence Ukrainians face difficulty countering them. In practice, considering their army's equipment, only Patriot system batteries are capable of this.

From the American perspective, it is important to note that the discussed Russian weapons can carry nuclear warheads. However, variants equipped with conventional warheads are being used to attack Ukrainian positions.

Analysts from Defence Express also point out that besides the existing stockpiles, the production capabilities of the Russian Federation for these types of missiles are significant. American estimates suggest that Russia can produce approximately 500 cruise missiles and no more than 80 hypersonic missiles per year.

It is worth noting that Russians have recently introduced a new cruise missile, the S8000 Banderol.