A New "Frankenstein" Ballistic Missile Has Been Discovered In Russia
- 10.09.2026, 12:52
The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) has revealed details about the missile for the S-400.
Russian RM-48U strike missiles, which follow a ballistic trajectory, are manufactured from old anti-aircraft missiles and target missiles for the S-400 “Triumph” system.
This was stated by the press service of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense. The point is that, in order to expand its arsenal of missile weapons for striking Ukraine, the enemy is refurbishing decommissioned anti-aircraft guided missiles andtarget missiles for the S-400 system and is upgrading them to strike missiles.
According to intelligence reports, the new Russian ballistic “Frankenstein” features a solid-fuel engine from the 48N6DM (S-400), a tail section from the 48N6E2 export anti-aircraft missile (S-300 PMU1/2, S-400), and the RM-48U instrument compartment consists of separate components from the 9M96 and 48N6E2 missiles.
The RM-48U is a single-stage solid-fuel missile that flies along a ballistic trajectory at a speed of 4–6 M and has a range of up to 400 km. The missile is equipped with a 199-kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead containing pre-formed fragmentation elements.
Navigation and guidance for this missile are provided by an autonomous, platform-independent inertial navigation system and a satellite navigation system based on “Kometa-R12” receivers.
To deliver anti-aircraft missile strikes against ground targets at tactical and operational depths, the Russians have specifically created separate units: a Special Tactical Missile Group (STMG) equipped with RM-48U missiles (radio-command guidance) and a Special Operational Missile Group (SOMG) equipped with RM-48U missiles (with satellite guidance). The range of the former, as part of the STRG, is limited by the radio horizon and the illumination and guidance capabilities of the S-400 system, so in most cases, the enemy employs autonomous RM-48U missiles with satellite guidance as part of the SPRG, intelligence officers explain.
The component base of the missile’s electronic units has a distribution by manufacturing country that is standard for Russian weapons. Most of them—95 out of 117—are from the United States, 4 are from Taiwan, 3 are from Switzerland, and 2 each are from Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea. Among the new components is a laser diode manufactured by the French company 3SP TECHNOLOGIES.
In addition, information has been released regarding 63 Russian enterprises involved in the cooperative production of these missiles, the officials and employees of the main ones, as well as the foreign equipment used by these enterprises.