Russia's 9M729 Novator: What we know about secret missile hitting Ukraine
Photo: 9M729 Novator missile (Russian media)
Russian forces are attacking Ukraine with new 9M729 missiles. The Russians have launched them more than 20 times, according to Reuters, Wikipedia, and Russian media.
The 9M729 Novator is a ground-launched cruise missile developed by NPO Novator.
It became known after it led to the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August 2019.
Specifications of the 9M729 missile
The 9M729 is a land-based variant of the Kalibr cruise missile. Russia claims a range of less than 500 km, but media sources state that the missile has an actual range of 2,350 kilometers and a reduced range of 2,000 kilometers when equipped with a 500-kilogram warhead.
The 9M729 missile can use the transport-launch system of the 9K720 Iskander missile complex. According to other reports, six missiles are mounted on an MAZ-543 launcher.
According to Reuters sources, since August, Russia has carried out 23 launches of these missiles, with two more recorded in 2022. One of them flew more than 1,200 km before hitting its target on October 5. Analysts believe that the 9M729 gives Russia the capability to strike from deep within its territory, bypassing air defense systems.
Ban on 9M729 missiles
The 9M729 class missiles were initially banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed between the US and the USSR in December 1987.
By November 1990, six launchers with 84 missiles were deployed at a missile and launcher storage site in Jelgava, Latvia. These launchers and missiles were later destroyed.
In early 2017, US officials, along with analyst Jeffrey Lewis, stated that Russia was violating the INF Treaty by deploying 9M728 and 9M729 missiles as part of the Iskander missile system.
Where 9M729 missiles were deployed
According to US officials, by February 14, 2017, two missile battalions equipped with these missiles had been deployed. Each battalion consisted of four launchers, each carrying cruise missiles with potentially nuclear warheads.
One battalion was believed to be stationed at Kapustin Yar near Volgograd, while the location of the other battalion remained unknown at that time.
In February 2019, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that, in addition to the known deployment sites and battalions — specifically, the launch areas at Kapustin Yar and Yekaterinburg — two more sites were equipped with these missiles: Mozdok in North Ossetia and Shuya near Moscow.
Last week, Russia announced it had tested its Burevestnik cruise missile with a nuclear engine, and on Wednesday said it had tested the Poseidon nuclear torpedo.
Against the backdrop of Russian statements, Trump ordered the US military to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing other countries’ testing programs.
