The Ukrainian Army Got a Fresh Batch of Tochka-U Ballistic Missiles. Expect Attacks Along the Russian Border.
The 2.2-ton Tochka-U ranges 70 miles.
The Ukrainian army’s sole Tochka-U missile brigade is back in action.
An Aug. 25 video report by Radio Free Europe depicts the 19th Missile Brigade in its bivouac somewhere near the front line in Ukraine, 2.2-ton ballistic missiles jutting from the unit’s transporter-erector-launcher vehicles.
It’s been three months since we’ve seen video or photographic evidence of a Ukrainian Tochka-U launch. Before that, there was an even longer gap in launches—around six months—that ended in November.
That’s because Ukraine went to war in February 2022 with a limited stock of Tockha-U missiles—reportedly around 90. Once those pre-war rockets were gone, seemingly in early 2023, Ukraine had to acquire replacement rockets from its foreign allies—or produce new ones.
No country has copped to shipping Tockha-Us to Ukraine, so it seems Ukrainian industry is producing new rockets—or at least reconditioning older rockets whose solid fuels have expired.
Ukraine possesses one of the biggest rocket industries in Europe. The sprawling Yuzhmash complex in Dnipro, in southern Ukraine, produces an array of rockets and rocket parts for commercial and military launches.
Russian firm KBM was the lead manufacturer of Tochka-Us during the type’s main production run ending in the 1990s. But Yuzhmash pivoted to building its own Tochka-U parts following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
More recently, the Ukrainian government tapped Yuzhmash to build a modernized version of the inertially-guided, 70-mile-range Tochka-U called the Hrim-2. Russian forces repeatedly have targeted Yuzhmash, clearly aiming to disrupt that work.
The Yuzhmash complex remains active despite Russian raids. In the summer of 2023, the Ukrainian defense ministry claimed the Hrim-2 was ready for production, presumably in Dnipro. There’s no evidence Ukrainian forces have fired any Hrim-2s in anger, however.
The Tochka is not a sophisticated missile. If Yuzhmash can produce Hrim-2s, there’s no reason it can’t recondition—or even build from scratch—the simpler Tochka-Us.
Armed with fresh rockets, the 19th Missile Brigade could rejoin Ukraine’s escalating campaign of deep strikes targeting Russian troops and industry in Russia.
Long-range drones traveling as far as 1,100 miles handle the deepest raids. Ex-American Army Tactical Missile System ballistic missiles and cruise missiles such as the locally-made Neptune as well as British Storm Shadows and French SCALP-EGs can tackle targets as far 190 miles away. The Ukrainians could aim the Tochka-Us at the nearest targets, 70 miles away or closer.
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