ANALYSIS – Ukrainian President Zelensky says the country has successfully tested a domestically-developed ballistic missile – thought to be the HRIM-2 variant – potentially bringing targets deep within Russia into range.
Zelensky did not name the missile, but military analysts believe it may be the Hrim-2 which translates as Thunder-2 in English), also known as Grim-2, Grom-2 or Sapsan.
This short-range ballistic missile system, developed to replace the Tochka-U missiles currently in service, is designed to evade air defense systems, including the Russian S-300 and S-400.
The weapon is thought to be based on Russia’s Iskander-M missile.
While the exact details of the new ballistic missile remain classified, Hrim-2 appears to be deployed on a two-round, 10-wheeled transporter-erector-launcher and could have a range of at least 174 miles and possibly up to 310 miles.
The new version of this weapon would give Ukraine’s armed forces a highly valuable new stand-off strike option unlike any other in its inventory.
And, unlike western-supplied weapons like the U.S. ATACMS, which has forced Russia to deploy its most advanced S-500 missile defense, there would be no restrictions on the use of domestically built ballistic missiles.
A few days earlier, Zelensky revealed that Ukraine had also developed a rocket-drone named “Palanytsia,’ which was successfully used in operations against Russia.
Zlensky’s announcement of the new ballistic missile was made during the “Ukraine 2024. Independence” forum, where Zelensky praised the Ukrainian defense industry for this achievement. The announcement signals Ukraine’s growing ability to independently develop and deploy advanced weaponry.
At the end of 2023, the Ministry of Defense stated that Ukraine had good prospects for producing missiles with a range of 620 miles, and that the project was exclusively funded by the national budget and carried out by the Ukrainian industry.
Meanwhile, Politico reported:
Despite Ukrainian domestic military production having made sizable progress since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kyiv still heavily relies on Western defense aid packages. This in part due to lacking the requisite funds for large-scale domestic production, Zelenskyy said.
In April, Ukraine launched its “ZBROYARI” initiative, which aims to attract Western funding for domestic defense production.
Western countries currently do not directly finance Kyiv’s armed forces, instead assisting with military aid packages and training. However, several countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Canada, have provided funds for defense producers in Ukraine to make weapons for Kyiv’s troops.
There was speculation earlier in the war that Ukraine might have employed some of those missiles in an attack on Russia’s Saki Air Base in 2022. But Russian claims and reports have been sketchy and inconclusive.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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