9K720 Iskander
The 9K720 Iskander (Russian: «Искандер»; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced and deployed by the Russian military. They travel at a terminal hypersonic speed of 2100–2600 m/s (Mach 6–7) and can reach an altitude of 50 km as they range up to 500 km. The missile systems (Искандер-М) were intended to replace by 2020 the supposedly-obsolete OTR-21 Tochka systems in the Russian military.
| 9K720 Iskander SS-26 Stone | |
|---|---|
Iskander-M missile on the starboard erector arm of the 9P78-1 transporter erector launcher displayed at the «ARMY-2016» military-technical forum | |
| Type | Short-range ballistic missile |
| Place of origin | Russia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2006–present |
| Used by | Russian Ground Forces Armenian Armed Forces Algerian People's National Army Armed Forces of Belarus |
| Wars | Russo-Georgian War Syrian Civil War 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Production history | |
| Designed | From 1988 |
| Manufacturer | Votkinsk Plant State Production Association (Votkinsk) – missiles Production Association Barricades (Volgograd) – ground equipment KBM (Kolomna) – developer of the system |
| Unit cost | $3 million |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) |
| Length | 7.3 m (24 ft) |
| Diameter | 0.92 m (3 ft 0 in) |
| Warhead | 480–700 kg (1,060–1,540 lb) thermonuclear weapon, high-explosive fragmentation, submunition, penetration, fuel–air explosive, EMP |
| Engine | Single-stage solid propellant |
Operational range | 400–500 km (250–310 mi) for Iskander-M |
| Maximum speed | 2,000 m/s (Mach 5.9) burn-out velocity (hypersonic) |
Guidance system | Inertial guidance, optical DSMAC (Iskander-M), TERCOM (Iskander-K), use of GPS / GLONASS in addition to the inertial guidance system Inertial, use of GPS / GLONASS and optical DSMAC terminal homing |
| Accuracy | 1–30 m (9K720) 5–7 m (Iskander-M) |
Launch platform | Mobile TEL |
The Iskander has several different conventional warheads, including a cluster munitions warhead, a fuel–air explosive enhanced-blast warhead, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, an earth penetrator for bunker busting and an electromagnetic pulse device for anti-radar missions. The missile can also carry nuclear warheads. In September 2017, the KB Mashinostroyeniya (KBM) general designer Valery M. Kashin said that there were at least seven types of missiles (and "perhaps more") for Iskander, including one cruise missile.