Russian army to receive another set of Iskander missile system

The Russian Armed Forces have received another set of the Iskander-M (NATO reporting name: SS-26 Stone) tactical surface-to-surface missile system, the Machine-Building Design Bureau (KBM), the system’s manufacturer, told TASS on June 28.

The official ceremony of transferring the Iskander-M tactical missile system to the army was held in the town of Znamensk in the Astrakhan region in south Russia and was attended by representatives of the Army and defense enterprises, including KBM Chief Designer Valery Kashin.

“The entire set of the system was delivered to missile forces back in May this year. A team of KBM specialists and adjacent enterprises spent several weeks at the practice range to check the vehicles and their joint combat operability. The set of 51 pieces of equipment works as a single whole, without a hitch. The Iskander-M tactical missile system is fully ready for combat use,” the KBM press office said.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said earlier the Russian Army would receive two brigade sets of Iskander-M tactical missile systems in 2016.

Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems are capable of hitting both small-size and large-area targets at a distance of up to 500 km to destroy missile and multiple launch rocket systems, long-range artillery guns, aircraft, and helicopters at aerodromes, command post and communications centers.

The Iskander tactical ballistic missile complex includes a launcher, a loader-transporter, a routine maintenance vehicle, a command post vehicle, an information post, an ammunition equipment set and training aids.

As was reported earlier, the Iskander-M tactical missile system is equipped with five types of aeroballistic missiles and one cruise missile.