Back in 2006, the government remembered that everything needed to create missiles was located on the territory of Dnepropetrovsk. As you know, during the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine abandoned its nuclear potential. But in connection with the unfolding events at the moment there are more and more rumors that the country is again ready to start developing missiles and other land-based weapons. Thus, it is worth paying attention to the actions of the state in recent years in order to determine what modern missile weapons of Ukraine can be produced on the territory of this country.
History of the resumption of the creation of rockets
In 2009, a column appeared in the country's budget on the allocation of funds for the creation of a military missile, which will be called Sapsan. This case took a little less than 7 million dollars. The project is the creation of a multifunctional tactical complex to increase the country's ability to stand up for itself. The bulk of the funds was directed to the Yuzhnoye design bureau, which is located in Dnepropetrovsk. In the same year, the bureau was able to protect the outline design and convey to the government the benefits of its development.
At that time, the Ministry of Defense fully supported the project and considered it necessary to create it. Another reason for the resumption of rocket production was the fact that by 2015-2016, that is, at the present moment, the weapons that were in Ukraine will become unusable and will be subject to write-off. Therefore, when Viktor Yanukovych took office, he supported in 2011 the continued production of the Sapsan complex. And in 2012, the project was suspended due to funding. But despite such interruptions in funding, the designer of the bureau continues to create weapons of Ukraine, the types of which are very diverse.
Sapsan now
The Director of the Bureau tried to support the development, but still he did not succeed. At first, the project lost priority, and then it was completely nullified. At the moment, the only prospect awaiting Ukraine regarding this complex is 2018. It takes so much time for the bureau to complete the project and provide the missile system for testing. At first it was assumed that the range of the missiles would be 280 kilometers with an accuracy of a couple of meters, but now the "South" proposes to increase the range to 500 kilometers.
Scud missile
Back in 2010, it was stated that Skud liquid-fuel rockets were completely destroyed as Ukrainian missile weapons. They were created during the Second World War. By the way, this model is considered one of the most common around the world. Recently it turned out that nevertheless there are some instances of these weapons in the country, and are actively used in the anti-terrorist operation in the struggle between the east of Ukraine and the country's armed forces.
It is worth noting that despite the range of this weapon (the radius of destruction is up to 300 kilometers), it is very inaccurate; hitting the target can deviate to a rather uncertain distance of up to 500 meters. At the same time, the unit weighs almost a ton.
Missile "Point"
Ukraine still claims to not use these missiles. For the missile system to work, you need to know in advance the location of the enemy. Four warheads are produced with precisely defined coordinates. The blow is applied depending on the coordinates and the range at which the shooting is being conducted.
Accuracy can be from 10 to 200 meters. In this case, one warhead affects from 2 to about 6 hectares. The flight speed of the rocket exceeds 1000 meters per second. These weapons can play a decisive role in any battle. But officially, Ukrainians refuse to use this type of weapon. One can only guess if this warhead is Ukraine’s missile weapon.
Thunder-2 rocket
Back in the early nineties, the Dnepropetrovsk design bureau introduced the idea of producing an operational-tactical missile “Thunder-2”. The range of her flight should be 500 meters. The original name of this project is Borisfen. At that time, with the help of this missile system, the creation of a new protective shield of Ukraine in exchange for obsolete weapons was to be carried out. At that time, there were more than 200 Skud and Tochka-U missile launchers in the country. But taking into account the social and economic state of the country, the creation of rockets was an irrelevant issue. In addition, the army was constantly declining. Then the state bureau Yuzhnoye began to send sketches of its inventions to foreign exhibitions, where these missiles were called “Thunder”.
Ukrainian-made military weapons and equipment often attract attention at such international exhibitions. These developments involved the creation of high-precision weapons belonging to the new generation, which will be able to provide the country with a shield that can withstand a non-nuclear attack. The missile system was designed to destroy stationary group and single targets. The range of missiles would be from 80 to 500 kilometers. At the same time, the missiles would be light enough, less than half a ton. It was planned to create an onboard system of inertial type, equipped with navigation and guidance. The launcher would be automatic, and the basis for it would be a chassis with a complete set of automatic preparation for launching warheads.
Rocket "Kite-2"
One of the priority tasks of the Dnepropetrovsk Design Bureau is the development of the Korshun-2 missile and rocket weapon system. This is a multifunctional missile system, the main task of which is to provide the country's shield capable of withstanding a non-nuclear attack. The project will use cruise missiles that can hit ground targets. In theory, he could represent Ukraine’s missile weapons in full. The payload of the missiles does not exceed a weight of half a ton, and the flight range of the warhead is 300 kilometers. The estimated mass of the combat equipment of the complex will be 480 kilograms. The new cruise missile will reach a flight altitude of 50 kilometers with the ability to go around the terrain, taking into account its terrain.
"Ukraine". Missile cruiser
The country's armament also has a missile cruiser, but, unfortunately, its use is impossible. Therefore, the head of the naval forces decided to sell it. With the proceeds, the country will be able to replenish its resources to protect water areas. The main problem of the missile cruiser is that almost 80 percent of the ship operates through Russian equipment. This missile cruiser could well represent high-precision weapons of Ukraine. At the moment, such products are not produced on the territory of Ukraine, so the ship is, as they say, idle, and cannot serve for the good of the motherland.
Unfortunately, the cost of a cruiser in the market is much lower than the country spent on its creation and maintenance, but now it’s more profitable for the state to sell it than to continue to maintain and maintain it. He could represent a new weapon of war for Ukraine, because the ship’s equipment has an anti-aircraft missile system with an average range, there are anti-ship missile launchers, and 3 batteries of thirty-millimeter six-barrel guns are also installed. The cruiser is equipped with a torpedo tube, an artillery system, and this is far from all that is installed on it.
Weapon
It is known that Ukraine will start using modern small arms of the world only in 2016. Today, every Ukrainian soldier has in his equipment a kind of Kalashnikov assault rifle, one of the models of TT, PM or PS pistols, as well as an extensive variety of hand grenades. In some cases, there are light machine guns and grenade launchers. For fighters of some units issued sniper rifles.
There are models of Ukrainian-made weapons and units purchased abroad. Almost all of these weapons have remained since Soviet times. But the command is not going to dwell on outdated models, now there are non-standard models representing the new small arms of Ukraine. They are created both within the state and abroad. Basically, among the new weapons there are sniper rifles, pistols and other units for single weapons.
