Just 2 new Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles per month: Is this enough to replenish stocks of the Russian army? – Technology Org
The Russian missiles Kh-47 Kinzhal are theoretically supposed to be weapons of a special purpose. They can reach supersonic velocities and hit targets before they are taken down by air defense systems. And, they are undoubtedly much more complicated from the technical side compared to regular cruise missiles. And cost much more.
Kh-47M2 Kinzhal carried by MiG-31K. Image credit: Army of the Russian Federation
According to the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, at the beginning of this year, the Russian military had only 43 units of Kinzhal missiles. Yuriy Ignat, Air Force spokesman, presented this data this week, while also revealing that six units of these projectiles were used during the massive attack on March 9.
All six missiles were fired at the objects of the civilian infrastructure. From the specialist point of view, using expensive weapons on non-military objects is a waste of money, unless the army possesses a significant surplus of all types of weaponry. But in the Russian Federation, this is not the case.
In fact, according to the estimates provided by the Ukrainian specialists, only 20 such missiles were manufactured in the Russian Federation since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February last year. This would mean that Kinzhal-type missiles are produced at a rate of fewer than two units per month.
For Kh-101 and Caliber missiles, the total number of units produced in a single month is around 40 (for both types).
Defense Express notes that there are two possible explanations for why the Russian Federation is using Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles against relatively simple civilian objects, such as electrical substations.
First, it is quite likely that the invading forces have a limited selection of precise object coordinates; Otherwise, the risk of missing the target increases significantly.
Second, to conduct massive-scale attacks, the Russian army may be lacking conventional cruise missiles, and for this reason, it is incorporating Kh-47 in these operations – even when these are way too expensive for that.
In any case, it seems that Kinzhal rockets are being depleted faster than they are being manufactured.