Ukraine War
Ukraine Using 110 km Range Surface-to-Surface Vilkha Missiles
Modified Soviet-era BM-30 Smerch Missiles exceed range of current US-supplied GMLRS systems
Ukraine has developed its own version of the Smerch missile system called the “Vilkha” (meaning “arrow” in Ukrainian). The Vilkha is a modernised version of the Smerch, with improvements in range and accuracy, as well as the ability to carry different types of warheads.
According to Vinnyk [Ivan Vinnyk, First Deputy Head of the National Association of the Defense-Industrial Complex of Ukraine and quoted by The War Zone], Vilkha-M has already been used in combat. But he did not say where exactly the missiles system had been used.
He said they had been first used in combat in May 2022.
“Their precision is boosted by so-called “gas rudders” — dozens of small holes emitting propellant — used to direct the missile onto the target via GPS. While the Vilkha-M is considered to be quite accurate and a precision munition, it is currently not disclosed how accurate it is,” Vinnyk explains.
Though so far produced in small numbers, the Vilkha-M gives Ukraine a munition that reaches 36 percent farther with more than twice the payload of the GMLRS. —…
