Russia has repurposed its supersonic anti-ship missile Onyx for ground attacks. Initially designed for targeting naval vessels, it is now being adapted to strike land-based targets as well.
Formerly integrated into the K-300P Bastion-P coastal defence system, the missile now features a new active seeker head, enabling it to engage aerial targets alongside ground targets.
These missiles are deployed in Crimea, from where they accurately target areas in Ukraine's Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. Ukraine is employing electronic warfare to counter these missiles, jamming GPS signals and disrupting networks, yet Onyx missiles continue to hit Ukrainian targets consistently. The Onyx missile is also known as Yakhont and SS-N-26 Strobile.
Capable of carrying nuclear warheads, this missile weighs 3000 kilograms. With a length of approximately 2.3 feet and a height of about 29.2 feet, it has a wingspan of 5.6 feet.
It can carry a 300-kilogram semi-armor-piercing HE, thermonuclear warhead, meaning it can be used to strike any building, tank, or armored vehicle.
The term "thermonuclear warhead" implies the potential for nuclear weapons as well.
The BrahMos missile is based on this platform, with seven versions available. Among them, one version is the BrahMos missile itself. The range of all seven versions ranges from 120 to 600 kilometres.
This missile can soar to a maximum altitude of 46,000 feet. Tracking it is difficult because it flies at an altitude of just 32 feet above ground and sea level.
The missile travels towards the target at supersonic speed, clocking at 3180 km/hr. It can change its course midway towards the target, making evasion nearly impossible.
With a precision of 1.5 meters, even if it falls within a 1.5-meter radius around the target, the destruction would be inevitable, as it should be.
