Russia obscuring serial numbers on Kh-101 missiles
It became known how Russia disguises the Kh-101 missiles (Photo:Police of the Kyiv Oblast)
Russia has begun to obscure the serial number of the Kh-101 missiles it’s launched against Ukraine, Ukrainian defense news outlet Defense Express reported on Jan. 26.
This is done to render impossible the identification of the approximate date of manufacture, the outlet wrote.
A missile’s serial number contains information about the year, quarter, batch, and serial number of the missile in the batch. This made it possible to estimate the rate and order of use of these projectiles.
At the same time, the outlet noted that previous reports had found that Russia was using Kh-101s produced in the last quarters of 2022.
However, while the removal of the serial number can prevent swift identification of the wreckage, all internal components and assemblies of the missile have their own serial numbers, and it is difficult to destroy them without disassembling the missile in the factory, Defense Express said.
On Jan. 26, Ukraine was struck another massive missile attack by Russia: cruise missiles were fired against Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian military, a total of 55 cruise missiles were launched that day, with the air defense intercepting 47 of them.
The missiles were launched from Tu-95, Su-35, MiG-31K aircraft and ships in the Black Sea. The missiles included Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-47 Kinzhal, Kalibr missiles, and Kh-59 guided missiles.
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