{"id":22290,"date":"2026-06-13T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=22290"},"modified":"2026-06-13T12:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T09:00:37","slug":"rf-modernizuvala-rakety-h-101-obid-ppo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/viyna\/rf-modernizuvala-rakety-h-101-obid-ppo\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kh-101 missiles have become more lethal: Russia has upgraded the missiles to evade air defences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"news-lead\">Russian Kh-101 missiles have undergone four major upgrades to more effectively evade Ukrainian air defences. Analysis of debris has revealed changes to the warhead, navigation and protection systems, designed to maximise damage to civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian air defence forces maintain a high interception rate for these missiles, but the enemy continues to adapt.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\">\n<div class=\"summary-title\">Briefly about the main points<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Russia has carried out at least four upgrades to the Kh-101 missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion.<\/li>\n<li>The missiles have been fitted with an 800-kg tandem warhead instead of a monoblock one.<\/li>\n<li>One version includes zirconium-coated cassette elements for large-scale fires.<\/li>\n<li>The X-101's navigation has been improved thanks to a combined system featuring a laser gyroscope.<\/li>\n<li>Ukrainian air defence forces are expected to shoot down around 881 X-101\/X-55\/X-555 missiles in 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The evolution of the X-101 missiles in the context of the war<\/h2>\n<p>Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation has carried out at least four major upgrades to its strategic cruise missile <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%A5-101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u0425-101<\/a>. The changes are designed to improve the effectiveness of strikes in the challenging environment of Ukraine\u2019s air defence system. A detailed laboratory analysis of the debris, carried out by specialists from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, has confirmed these upgrades.<\/p>\n<h2>Key technical innovations<\/h2>\n<p>The first key change was the replacement of the original monoblock high-explosive fragmentation warhead, weighing around 480 kg, with a tandem system weighing around 800 kg. To achieve this, the fuel tank capacity was reduced, which decreased the range from 5,500 km but increased the destructive power within Ukraine. In one variant, the missile is equipped with a cluster warhead containing submunitions and a zirconium coating, which causes large-scale fires that are difficult to extinguish.<\/p>\n<h2>Navigation and safety systems<\/h2>\n<p>The updated navigation system is based on a combined system, the core of which is an inertial system with a laser gyroscope that is resistant to electronic warfare. This is supplemented by satellite correction and an extreme-correlation-type optoelectronic system, which compares digital terrain maps with real-time imagery during the final stage of flight. The SP-504 airborne protection system activates decoys for Ukrainian radars and automatically fires thermal and dipole decoys in the event of an interception threat.<\/p>\n<h2>Strategic aviation production and resources<\/h2>\n<p>Analysis of the debris suggests that <strong>X-101 missiles<\/strong> are being assembled literally just a few weeks before launch, as there are no stockpiles. Production is operating on a \u00abjust-in-time\u00bb basis. At the same time, the Russian Federation\u2019s strategic aviation resources are being depleted, and Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers are increasingly carrying out flights with an incomplete combat load \u2014 two missiles instead of six.<\/p>\n<h2>The effectiveness of Ukraine\u2019s air defence<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the modernisation, Ukrainian <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/viyna\/ukraina-zminiuie-ppo-nato-shahed-sky-fortress\/\">air defence forces<\/a> demonstrate a high level of skill. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, since the start of 2026, the number of X-101\/X-55\/X-555 missiles shot down stands at around 88%. The strategic objective is to increase this figure to 95% to ensure full protection of critical infrastructure.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u0420\u043e\u0441\u0456\u0439\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0456 \u0440\u0430\u043a\u0435\u0442\u0438 \u0425-101 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0439\u0448\u043b\u0438 \u0447\u043e\u0442\u0438\u0440\u0438 \u0433\u043b\u0438\u0431\u043e\u043a\u0456 \u043c\u043e\u0434\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0456\u0437\u0430\u0446\u0456\u0457, \u0449\u043e\u0431 \u0435\u0444\u0435\u043a\u0442\u0438\u0432\u043d\u0456\u0448\u0435 \u043e\u0431\u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0442\u0438 \u0443\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u0438\u043f\u043e\u0432\u0456\u0442\u0440\u044f\u043d\u0443 \u043e\u0431\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0443. \u0410\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0456\u0437 \u0443\u043b\u0430\u043c\u043a\u0456\u0432 \u043f\u043e\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0432 \u0437\u043c\u0456\u043d\u0438 \u0443 \u0431\u043e\u0439\u043e\u0432\u0456\u0439 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