Russia to Mass-Produce New Missile
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 22 that his country will start mass-producing a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) called “Oreshnik“. This was announced during a meeting with Defense Ministry officials and representatives from the military-industrial complex.
A day earlier, Putin mentioned that Russian forces used the “Oreshnik” to attack the city of Dnipro in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. However, Ukrainian authorities have not yet reported on the type of missile used in the recent attack.
Military intelligence agency HUR suggested that the “Oreshnik” might not be a new Russian design but rather part of the Kedr missile complex that has been in development since 2021.
Putin denied claims that the Oreshnik is a modernization of old Soviet systems. He stated that the missile is based on the latest Russian developments and there are no similar weapons or means to intercept them worldwide.
Russia still has stockpiles of these missiles ready for use, according to Putin. The president also announced plans to continue testing the “Oreshnik” missile in combat conditions.
Little information is known about the “Oreshnik” missile, but military expert Yan Matveev suggested that it could be a modified version of the “Rubezh” IRBM, which has a range of up to 6,000 kilometers and can carry four warheads.