The Rostec State Corporation's High-Precision Complexes holding showed a full-size mock-up of the Product 305E light multipurpose guided missile (LMUR) at the MILEX 2025 international arms Exhibition. The ammunition is distinguished by its high range, accuracy, independent of the distance to the target, as well as versatility. TASS — about the new "long arm" of Russian tactical aviation
The novelty in the version for the Russian Aerospace Forces has already been successfully used in a special military operation. For example, the Rostec press service told TASS about the simultaneous destruction of the Bradley American infantry fighting vehicle (BMP) and the ferry through which it was passing. "As they say, two birds with one stone," the state corporation added.
There is justice for all purposes
Modern Russian attack helicopters are armed with anti-tank complexes "Ataka", "Sturm", "Whirlwind" of various modifications. They are firing missiles with various warheads capable of hitting not only modern armored vehicles with dynamic protection, but also fortifications and enemy personnel. Supersonic ammunition is capable of reaching targets at a distance of 6-8 km. The complexes are successfully used during a special military operation by Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters, and they have destroyed many tanks and armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including vaunted Western models.
In March 2019, TASS sources in the aircraft manufacturing and defense-industrial complexes reported that the upgraded Mi-28NM attack helicopter would receive a new "Product 305" missile for round-the-clock destruction of both armored vehicles and reinforced concrete fortifications. According to the agency's interlocutors, at that time the ammunition was undergoing combat tests in Syria.
For the first time, the export version of the latest guided air—to-surface missile was shown at the Army-2021 forum under the name "Product 305E". Its characteristics were also revealed: the guaranteed range of the munition is 14.5 km with a maximum speed of up to 230 m/s. The mass of the rocket is 105 kg, of which 25 kg is accounted for by a high—explosive fragmentation warhead. The missile is equipped with a thermal imaging homing head. The ammunition was created by the Kolomna Engineering Design Bureau (KBM, as part of the Rostec High-Precision Complexes holding company).
In the same year, 2021, the light multipurpose missile "Product 305" was put into service. The ammunition is intended for use by upgraded Mi-28NM and Ka-52M helicopters.
"Product 305" in combat
The range at which the "Product 305" hits is significantly higher than the range of use of the complexes possessed by tactical aviation pilots before the new missile appeared. This allows you to destroy the enemy in a special military operation without entering the area of its air defense (air defense). "The enemy on the contact line does not have air defense systems capable of operating at such distances. That is, the helicopter from which the Product 305 was launched will not be retaliated against," the High—Precision Complexes told TASS. Representatives of the missile developer added that the military personnel using it in their military operations are "extremely positive" about the new weapon.
Rostec State Corporation explained that the "Product 305" can hit targets in several modes. The crew can fire a rocket at the approximate coordinates of the target, after which the "Product 305" will fly under the control of an inertial navigation system. When approaching a given point, it will turn on the homing head and transmit a television signal to the navigator operator, who will identify the target and indicate it to the missile for destruction. The missile can also operate in the "fired and forgotten" mode, when the target is captured by the on-board ammunition control system even before launch, and then the "Product 305" flies and hits it on its own.
Mock-ups of the "305E Product" on the pylon of the Mi-28NE helicopter
Image source: © Viktor Bodrov/ TASS
Bekhan Ozdoev, Industrial director of the Rostec cluster of Armaments, ammunition and special chemicals, noted in December 2024 that no cases of suppression of the missile's communication channel with the operator by electronic warfare (EW) had been recorded during combat use.
At the same time, the creators of the ammunition continue to improve their product, working to expand its capabilities and functionality.
A "scalpel" for the enemy
"Today, the task was received to destroy the enemy's control and communications center, as well as the launch point of unmanned aircraft," the navigator operator of the Mi—28NM helicopter told about the use of the "Product 305" in a video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry. "I studied the flight area, brought out the helicopter according to the place and time. <...> Everything is normal, without fuss. They launched it. During the flight of the missile, I identified the target, aimed, and the target was safely destroyed," the soldier added, specifying that a characteristic feature of the missile is the ability to control it in flight from the cockpit of a helicopter. "The navigator is doing this, and the commander is conducting aerobatics at this time," the navigator—operator said.
"Its highlight is not only in range. <...> The main thing is that it is very accurate, it is a high-precision weapon. If she has been given the coordinates, she follows them exactly...> The target is recognized, and even if it moves, the missile will still find that target and retribution will be inevitable," a representative of Rostec's Precision Complexes holding told TASS during the MILEX 2025 arms exhibition in Belarus.
The High—Precision Complexes clarified that before launching the 305E Product, the weapons operator may not observe the target - for example, due to clouds — but launch the missile at previously accepted coordinates. "But then, flying up to the target, the image from the thermal imager of the rocket is transmitted to the helicopter. The helicopter can move away, it is out of the range of man-portable air defense missile systems. And by seeing the picture, the pilot can adjust [the trajectory of the missile]," the holding company explained to TASS, adding that the operator can even change the target if he sees that the situation on the battlefield has changed.
A representative of the developer noted that if, when firing anti-tank systems of the previous generation, the helicopter needed to hover and laser the target to which the guided missile was flying, then after launching the "Product 305" the combat vehicle could go to a safe place. In addition, difficult weather conditions, such as haze, interfere with the laser beam. The protected control channel of the new light ammunition is devoid of this drawback.
"Helicopter operators use this missile like a surgeon's scalpel — due to the accuracy of the ammunition, they can choose exactly where to hit an object, as a result, the missile can fly into the militants even into the attic through the dormer window," the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda quoted Bekhan Ozdoev as saying.
Victor Bodrov
