06/08/2026
Ukraine could obtain advanced American AGM-188A Rusty Dagger cruise missiles and use them against Russian forces. They were developed specifically for Ukrainian forces under the ERAM system.
This is evidenced by the fragments of the missile found by the Russians. The information is provided by the Defense Express magazine.
What is known
As confirmation, the Russians showed pictures of an eight-element CRPA navigation antenna found among the debris, probably at the landing site. After examining its markings, it became known that it belongs to the American company Zone 5 Technologies.
It is assumed that Ukraine was able to obtain them; however, no official confirmation of this has been received so far. However, if the receipt is confirmed, a very powerful weapon has entered the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Although ERAM requested a range of at least 460 km, the missile is capable of flying more than twice as far, over 930 km.
The publication suggests that the missile was created in the same weight and dimensions as the 227-kilogram Mk82 air bomb. The weight is only 2 centners, of which 45 kg is for the warhead. It also has a turbojet engine, thanks to which it is able to maintain a high subsonic speed, which, combined with its small size and body, makes it extremely difficult to intercept.
As for guidance, the missile has a standard combination of inertial system and GPS, which is provided by a found antenna. At the same time, the manufacturer claims that the missile has the option of autonomous visual navigation.
As a reminder, earlier the Belgian missile plant Thales Belgium intends to produce no less than one hundred thousand missiles annually starting from 2028 , which were “designed to help Ukraine shoot down Russian drones.” These are the so-called “small”, 70-mm guided missiles FZ275 LGR with a warhead filled with thousands of steel balls.
As OBOZ.UA reports, Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighters will not change the situation on the front in the short term. The only effective way to deter Russian combat aircraft may be Meteor missiles on board the aforementioned fighters.
Rusty Dagger … a strange name for a weapon. But, as long as it destroys effectively, it doesn’t matter.
“Although ERAM requested a range of at least 460 km, the missile is capable of flying more than twice as far, over 930 km.”
Ukraine are grateful for any weapons, but the fear is still resulting in Ukraine having one hand tied behind their backs.
I couldn’t quite make sense of this line but this is how it translates from original publication…
The publication suggests that the missile was created in the same weight and dimensions as the 227-kilogram Mk82 air bomb.((( The weight is only (2 centners), of which 45 kg is for the warhead.)))
“The centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries that is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies.”
So, maybe 2 centners is 200 kilograms?
It is also used in Germany. A Zentner (centner) is 100 lbs., or 50 kilograms.
A centner is half of 100kg. We don’t hear about it much in the US 😉 And it appears the math still doesn’t add up so I’m with you.
Note that the definition I just quoted said the base unit could be pounds or kilos. If you’re thinking pounds but the article is referring to KG, does that make the math work better? (A pound is *roughly* a half a kilogram.)
“a warhead filled with thousands of steel balls”
Funny – I was just reading an article about attacks on oil storage tanks, and thinking that the HE rounds used to hit a few of the tanks could be combined with something like the cluster munitions variant of ATACMS, to put holes in the tanks which weren’t directly hit. Sounds like this could serve the same purpose – get lots of fuel leaking out, so the fires can spread across the entire storage farm.
Thanks Sir Red, and Sir Larry for the definitions and explanations.😎👍