The next stage of escalation in the long-distance arms war between Russia and Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war) is on the horizon. On Friday, Armed Forces Day in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi handed over the first batch of the new Peklo (Пекло, hell) missile drone from the Ukrainian arms company Ukroboronprom to the Ukrainian armed forces in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin, the Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Anna Gvozdyar and the Presidential Advisor for Strategic Affairs Oleksandr Kamyshin also took part in the handover.
According to Smetanin, the Ukrainian manufacturer developed the missile drone from scratch in record time – within a year. And “the product is already being used successfully in combat,” he said.
Дрон-ракета “Пекло”. Наша, українська зброя, яка вже має підтверджене бойове застосування. Сьогодні передали першу партію нашим Силам оборони. Тепер завдання – нарощувати виробництво та застосування. Дякую кожнному й кожній, хто залучений до нашого оборонного виробництва, чий… pic.twitter.com/G2EWHQyVmZ
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 6, 2024
The little information released about the weapon relates to its range, which is said to be around 700 kilometers, and its speed of around 700 km/h. It is probably no coincidence that this information suggests that the missile can reach Moscow from Ukraine within an hour. However, the region around Volgograd, from where the RS-26 Rubezh medium-range missile was fired at Dnipro on November 21, is also within range (-> Severin Pleyer: “Russia wants to show strength”). The same applies to the Engels military airfield near Saratov, from where long-range bombers have repeatedly taken off towards Ukraine. Furthermore, airfields and other military targets in a wide arc starting in the north with Solzy, Novgorod Oblast, to Khanskaya in the Caucasus.
Other technical features of the stand-off weapon were not announced for security reasons. It is clear that series production is already underway and that, according to statements, it costs significantly less than comparable Russian weapons.
The design of the approximately two-meter-long jet-powered missile is strongly reminiscent of the Hutis’ Quds cruise missiles. The freestanding microturbo engine mounted above the fuselage at the rear is striking.
Such engines are becoming increasingly popular for low-cost stand-off weapons, as they require fewer moving parts than a piston engine and allow significantly greater range than would be achievable with a solid propellant engine. Similar to commercial aircraft, the externally mounted engine has no negative effects in subsonic conditions. However, this allows for a simpler construction of the fuselage and also results in more volume for fuel, for example.
In addition, the engine is optimally positioned in the airflow at all speeds, which would require extensive wind tunnel tests with internal mounting and air ducts in the fuselage.
A wingspan of around one and a half meters and a surprisingly small V-tail are further features of the Cruise-Missile.
It is unclear how the drone is launched; the rounded tail does not indicate a solid-fuel launch booster, which is otherwise very popular for weapons in this category. It is conceivable that a small launch trolley is used, which rolls out on the runway when the cruise missile takes off.
The workmanship with clearly visible rivets and gaps between the components indicate that more importance was attached to simple and cheap mass production than to high precision, low air resistance and a smaller radar cross-section.
At the end of November, Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans for the production of 3,000 cruise missiles for 2025 in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament).
Here to our drone topic area with all the latest news on the subject.
