Ukraine has begun serial production of the new Sapsan ballistic missile. According to the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, this missile has already tested in combat conditions last month, where it successfully hit a Russian military target at a distance of about 300 km.
We spoke with aviation expert and leading researcher at the State Aviation Museum Valeriy Romanenko about how many Sapsan missiles Ukraine needs.
Technical characteristics of the Sapsan rocket
The Ukrainian-made ballistic missile is capable of delivering a 480 kg warhead, more than twice what the American ATACMS missiles can carry.
Now watching
In addition to its significant explosive power, the Peregrine Falcon has supersonic speed – it can fly more than five times faster than sound.
Despite the presence of drones in the Ukrainian Armed Forces that are capable of reaching even such targets as the Kremlin, they are much more vulnerable to air defense systems. But the Sapsan is much more difficult to intercept in flight.
Although there is no official data on the missile's maximum range, it is estimated to be capable of covering distances of up to 500 km.
How many Sapsan missiles does Ukraine need to hit Russian targets?
According to Valery Romanenko, at the initial stage the number of missiles will be small – only in symbolic quantities.
“They will have a certain effect, but it should be taken into account that human and technical losses are not a hindrance for the Russians,” the expert believes.
However, it is important to already have the means to, if necessary, carry out pinpoint strikes on their logistics or critical facilities, weakening their offensive potential.
“It would be good if we could produce a little more than a dozen missiles in the first year,” the aviation expert noted.
In the long term, we should not be talking about 10 or 20 units, but about the production of at least several hundred missiles annually.
How many Sapsan missiles does Ukraine need to win?
According to the expert, dozens of missiles will not change the situation radically. We need not a symbolic arsenal, but a real instrument of fire control over enemy positions.
Several dozen are more suitable for individual retaliatory actions, rather than for systemic work. Real changes at the front are possible only if large-scale production of missiles is established, and this takes time.
“The efficiency of Sapsan trains will be largely determined by the scale of their production, since the needs may be very large,” the expert believes.
Experience with the use of Western ATACMS missiles has shown that Russian air defense is not always capable of successfully intercepting them, which gives additional confidence in the combat potential of Ukrainian missiles.
