First-ever use of Progress missile by Russia against Ukraine
For the first time, the Russian military used the P-35 (3M44 Progress) anti-ship missile for strikes against Ukraine. Her wreckage has been found, and photos have already appeared online, Defense Express reports on Thursday, January 18.
It is noted that this rocket has considerable dimensions: its length is 10 meters, and the starting weight is 4 tons. The P-35 was developed in the middle of the last century, and already in 1962 it was adopted. This missile was probably shot down in the south, given that it is an anti-ship missile.
“And although it is quite difficult to distinguish the P-35 in this pile of metal, this missile has rather distinctive wings. And Defense Express has confirmation from its own sources that it is precisely this missile. Despite its age, the P-35 is still in service with the Russian Federation. In particular, it is a means of defeating the coastal missile complex Redut. As of 2021, their number was estimated at 8 startups,” the material says.
In addition, such a missile can be used in the Utes complex, known as Object-100. This is an underground facility located in the Balaklava region (occupied Crimea, editor’s note). Rockets are hidden underground in the launchers, they rise only before the start.
It is known that there were only two such complexes – in the Crimea and on the abandoned island of Kildin in the Barents Sea. After the occupation of the Crimean peninsula, the Russians restored Object-100 in 2016 and launched missiles from there several times. However, it is currently unknown which launcher was used for the strike. It is noted that the very use of even such means of long-range damage “is more like just a desire to hit at least with something.”
Defense Express experts emphasize that the P-35 missile in the latest version of modernization (3M44), which was adopted in 1982, was already considered archaic then.
“The range of its use is up to 300 km (according to some sources, up to 460 km in the 3M44 version), the speed is up to 1,800 km/h (according to other sources, 2,200 km/h), the size of the warhead is up to 930 kg (FKBCH 4G48)”, – writes the publication.
In addition, the possibility of hitting coastal targets was laid, however, due to the guidance system, they had to be radio-contrast.
“In this way, the launch of P-35 missiles by the enemy is somewhat related to the use of the Kh-22, which is used by it for terrorist attacks on cities,” the experts summarized.
As for the current affairs in the south, the fighters of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed with a kamikaze drone the BM-21 “Grad” salvo rocket system of the Russian occupiers along with the crew (driver and two members of the calculation) in the Kherson direction.
The press service of the command of the SSO of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this on the official page on the Facebook social network and on its own Telegram channel, publishing the corresponding video edited from footage taken both by barrage ammunition and by a control unmanned aerial vehicle.
The enemy “Grad” managed to shoot back along the free right bank of the Dnieper and was already moving from a firing position, however, probably, it did not fire all the shells. After being hit while driving, it exploded unexpectedly powerfully – the crew had no chance.
Meanwhile, the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine reported that during the period from 7:00 a.m. on the seventeenth of January to 7:00 a.m. on the eighteenth, our defenders eliminated 45 invaders (two platoons) in the Kherson direction.
And they also destroyed 13 guns, 4 tanks, 18 cars, 4 unmanned aerial vehicles, 4 antenna systems of radio-electronic warfare and communication, the mobile radar station “Kasta-2E”, a storage place for fuel and lubricants, an observation post, a video surveillance camera and a boat .