Yuri Kobzar19:42, 13.06.25

The Sapsan missile system had been under development for many years, but real progress only emerged during a full-scale war.

Ukraine has successfully tested its own ballistic missile “Sapsan” , and now it will be launched into mass production. Director of the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament Valentyn Badrak said this in an article for LIGA.net .

“In July 2024, the first successful tests of the first ballistic missile took place,” the expert said.

He noted that ballistic missiles are more powerful than cruise missiles and have high speed. For example, the Ukrainian Sapsan during tests reached a speed of Mach 5.2, or approximately 6,370 km/h. For comparison: the American ATACMS has a speed of about Mach 3, and the Russian Iskander-M has a speed of about Mach 6.

An important advantage of ballistic missiles is their parabolic flight path, which makes it much more difficult to intercept them with conventional anti-aircraft missile systems.

“This was proven in practice even by the old American ATACMS ballistic missiles, which the enemy was unable to intercept,” Badrak noted.

In May 2025, the Sapsan was used in combat for the first time, and also successfully, says Badrak. According to him, the missile destroyed a Russian military facility at a distance of about 300 kilometers.

The analyst reported that now the Sapsan will go into mass production, and, as he was assured by the Ministry of Defense, there are no obstacles to this. 

The missile’s technical specifications also indicate that it carries a warhead weighing 480 kg. For comparison, the already mentioned ATACMS warhead weighs 227 kg in the high-explosive version.

“So we can predict that Ukraine is already on the path to missile buildup, and this is important not only for the present, but also for ensuring the future of the state and nation,” the expert concluded.

(C)UNIAN 2025