Russian expert on accuracy of Kh-101 cruise missiles used against terrorists in Syria

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Russia’s Kh-101 cruise missiles, which a Tupolev-95MSM bomber used against terrorists in Syria for the first time on Thursday, have a circular error probable of no more than seven meters, the editor-in-chief of the Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fartherland) magazine, Viktor Murakhovsky told TASS.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry’s official channel in YouTube made public a video showing these missiles in action against militants’ positions in Syria.

"The missile has a combined homing system - inertial navigation, opto-electronic adjustment and other features. The maximum deviation from the target regardless of the distance is no greater than five-seven meters," Murakhovsky said.

The Kh-101 missile and its configuration armed with a special warhead Kh-102 is a new generation of high-accuracy long-range cruise missiles, he said.

"The radar-evasive missiles are manufactured on a new technological basis. All components are of Russian manufacture, in contrast to the missiles of previous generations, which incorporated parts manufactured in other former Soviet republics," Murakhovsky said.

The missile’s guidance system has been upgraded.

"It is capable of receiving comprehensive information about the route and the target’s coordinates. In contrast to the previous generation missiles it is re-targetable. Certain control points on the route and the targets it can hit are included in the program. A different target can be selected during the combat mission," he said.

The Tupolev-95MS strategic bomber has been upgraded precisely for using this new generation missile.

"It can carry eight such weapons. The pylons had to be redesigned and onboard electronics upgraded to make it possible to set flight tasks and perform other operations the use of the new missiles in combat may require," Murakhovsky said.