RM-48U Missiles Make Up More Than Half of Ballistic and Hypersonic Missiles Fired at Ukraine in July and August

Russian RM-48U missiles accounted for more than half of the 228 ballistic and hypersonic missiles fired at Ukraine in July and early August.

This information was reported by Reuters, which reviewed data from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

In its standard configuration, the RM-48U is a target missile manufactured from decommissioned 5V55 or 48N6 anti-aircraft missiles used in the S-300PM and S-400 air defense systems.

In these training missiles, the warhead is replaced with measuring instruments or ballast, after which the RM-48U is used for exercises and to train air defense crews.

The use of RM-48U missiles against ground targets was first reported in January of this year.

To this end, they are equipped with a warhead weighing 199 kg. At the same time, the RM-48U can also be used to divert attention and deplete Ukrainian air defense missile stocks.

“The RM-48U flies along a ballistic trajectory at high speed, but it is less powerful and less accurate than the ‘Iskander,’” a representative from the prosecutor’s office told the publication.

Deployment of the RM-48U

The scale of the RM-48U deployment demonstrates how Russia managed to expand its attacks over the summer without depleting its stockpiles of Iskander missiles and other primary-purpose missiles.

As the number of attacks using the RM-48U increased in July, the number of Iskander missiles launched dropped to 38—down from over 100 the previous month.

In July, Russia launched the largest number of ballistic and hypersonic missiles in a single month since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Of the 158 strikes, 87 were carried out with RM-48U missiles, the data shows.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has linked the RM-48U missile to several strikes that have caused a large number of civilian casualties over the past few months, including the strike on a train platform in the Brovary district.

“The RM-48U missiles deviate from their targets by an average of approximately 300 meters, and their explosive warheads can scatter metal fragments over a large area,” the prosecutor’s office stated.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) stated that Russia plans to more than double production of RM-48U missiles—to 480 this year compared to 200 last year. It is known that these missiles contain foreign components.

Recently, in the Bryansk region, Ukrainian strikes destroyed two launchers of the S-400 system, which are capable of firing these missiles.