Russia developing new Kinzhal missile variant with high-explosive warhead
Photo: Russia is developing a new version of the Kinzhal missile (Getty Images)
Russia is working on a new variant of its Kinzhal aeroballistic missile equipped with a fragmentation high-explosive warhead, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR).
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has published an interactive 3D model, details about the components, and information on the companies involved in producing Russia’s 9-S-7760 aeroballistic missile, better known as the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal.
According to the agency, the Kinzhal is a single-stage, solid-fuel missile with an integrated warhead. Around 90% of its components are standardized with those of the 9M723 missile used by Russia’s Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system.
One of the Kinzhal’s key features is a tail aerodynamic fairing that separates after the engine starts. The missile is also equipped with a radar homing seeker, which Russia describes as all-weather, and an active jamming station, in addition to the S-200 decoy-launching system.
The Kinzhal currently has two types of warheads: a penetrating high-explosive warhead housed in a thick metal casing designed to penetrate floors, concrete, and fortified structures, and a specialized nuclear warhead. Russia is now working on a variant equipped with a fragmentation high-explosive warhead.
These changes may be directly related to problems with the missile’s guidance accuracy, since high precision is particularly important for a penetrating warhead. For this reason, Russia significantly reduced its state defense procurement orders for these missiles in 2026, redirecting production capacity, components, and raw materials toward manufacturing 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles.
Another reason for this shift in priorities is the limited service life and availability of the aircraft that carry Kinzhal missiles — the MiG-31I interceptor aircraft and their predecessors, the MiG-31K. Russia’s aviation industry is not currently producing these aircraft.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck three facilities involved in the production of Russian missiles: the Iskra plant, the Efremov Synthetic Rubber Plant, and Voronezhsintezkauchuk.
