The Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise told how much explosives are contained in the warhead of the "Zircon" missile

The warhead of the Zircon missile contains  no more than 40 kilograms of explosives. The warhead of this missile is smaller compared to the X-101 and X-22 missiles. This was reported to Suspilne by Andriy Kulchytskyi, the head of the military research laboratory of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, UNN reports.

Details

"We are still analyzing, we will determine what kind of substance is there. But the warhead is small: it is not comparable to the warhead of such missiles as X-101 and X-22," said the expert of KSRFE.

He added that Ukrainian air defense is capable of shooting down Zircon missiles. According to him, one of the fragments of the missile that was shot down on March 25 clearly shows that it was shot down by the Patriot system. He also noted that this missile, advertised by the Russians, does not fulfill its combat mission.

"This missile does not fulfill its combat mission. Everything that is charged, all the characteristics of "super" and "hyper" are just words, but in reality, the missile is still a long way from combat use. It flies in the wrong direction, does not do the job for which it is designed," Kulchytsky said.

Recall

Experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise were the first to officially report that on February 7, Russia used Zircon missiles during a strike on Ukraine.

"According to preliminary information, there is indeed evidence of the use of a 3M22 Zircon missile. This is evidenced by the markings on parts and fragments, identification of components and parts, and features of the relevant type of weapon. Several pieces of debris have laser engraved and embossed inscriptions 3L22, indicating a specific assembly from a specific product. In addition, the bolts on the steering mechanisms are marked with the number 26, which is a feature of the Zircon. Other markings on the missile wreckage indicate the date of production of its components - late 2023-2024. This means that the missile was assembled recently," said Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise.

He added that the missile does not meet the characteristics declared by Russia and does not contain any of the latest technologies.

"The missile was flying at a speed of no more than 2,500 kilometers. The damaging factors do not yet correspond to the declared ones. The assembly is Russian: in some places there are still laser written numbers, and somewhere scratched with nails. Some boards are hand-assembled. There are some new things directly in some units. Everything else is the same: standard engines, metal quality, components are nothing special, nothing revolutionary. We are, however, now studying what kind of explosive was used," Ruvin said.