The Oreshnik missile is the latest weapon in the arsenal of the Russian Air Force. It is a medium-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can fly at hypersonic speeds. It was fired in anger for the first time on November 21, 2024, during the war in Ukraine to strike command post shelters as a respond to the Ukrainian Army using ATACMs and Storm Shadow cruise missiles to attack targets deem in Russian territory. This new Russian weapon is not a cruise missile, which is propelled by a turbine, but a ballistic one, as it is powered by a rocket.
Powered by a three-stage, solid-fuel rocket engine, the Oreshnik missile can fly at ten times the speed of sound. In other words at Mach 10 (12,200 km/h or 7,600 mph). Remember, hypersonic speed is reached at Mach 6. Thus, not a single air defense system in the world has the capability of intercepting it. It can deliver either nuclear or conventional warheads. The missile carries the hypersonic Avangard glide vehicle, which holds several warheads that can hit several targets simultaneously as they rain down like lightning from the stratosphere.
According to Putin, the Oreshnik missile is not an upgrade of any Soviet-era missile system, like the OTR-21 Tochka. It is a completely new development, with more powerful rockets and more advanced guidance system. It is launched from either silos of mobile platforms. Putin has already ordered the massive production of this lethal weapon.
Below, launching of the Yars RS-24 missile, which employs similar launching platform and guidance system than the Oreshnik (video)
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