Russian missile misfire exposes flaws in Oreshnik system
According to David Axe, an American journalist and war correspondent associated with Forbes, the Russians reportedly launched a second Oreshnik ballistic missile towards Ukraine. However, the missile failed to reach its target and detonated while still within Russian territory.
Russia attempted once more to use the new Oreshnik ballistic missile, which was intended to strike Kyiv. However, as reported by Forbes, the missile exploded while still on Russian soil.
The Russians launched the Oreshnik. It did not reach its target
The first Oreshnik attack occurred on 21 November, when the missile struck the Dnieper, destroying it and injuring many people. David Axe reports that on Thursday morning, February 6th, the Russians launched the Oreshnik again, this time targeting Kyiv. Residents of the city heard sirens and sought shelter in safe places. However, as Ukrainian war correspondent Kirill Sazonov confirmed, the missile did not reach its target.
The Oreshnik, a modification of the RS-26, has a shorter range due to its limited fuel capacity. The first RS-26 test in 2011 failed when the prototype exploded near the launch site in Plesetsk.
Experts cited by Forbes, including Jeffrey Lewis from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, emphasise that Oreshnik is a weapon of terror, meant more to intimidate than to destroy. After the first attack, Putin organised a propaganda campaign to highlight the alleged power of the new weapon.
The Oreshnik's inefficiency undermines its value as an intimidation tool. Half of the missiles launched have not reached their targets, reducing their capacity to instil fear.
Russian Oreshnik
Recently, Ukrainians revealed that in the fragments of Oreshnik remains from the November attack, they found parts with numbers suggesting that the missile had components manufactured as far back as April 2017. This information may cast doubt on Russian assurances about the modernity of this technology.
Detailed technical data on the Oreshnik missiles is still limited. Assuming this technology is based on the RS-26 system, the initial launch mass of the missile could be between 40,000 and 50,000 kilograms. These missiles can cover distances up to 6,000 kilometres. Standard equipment most likely includes four warheads, each with a yield of approximately 0.3 megatons.
