The Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian air defense for the first time shot down a new Ukrainian missile "Thunder-2" The Ukrainian tactical missile "Thunder-2" was shot down by Russian air defense forces in the special operation zone.
This is the first time that the Ministry of Defense has reported the interception of this missile. It was developed and produced at the Dnepropetrovsk Yuzhmash plant. In September and November, massive strikes were inflicted on this enterprise, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported the destruction of the Grom-2 and Tochka-U production workshops.
The Russian military shot down a Ukrainian Thunder-2 missile in the special operation zone. This was announced at a daily briefing by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov. This case was the first since the beginning of the SVO, when the Russian air defense forces shoot down a missile of this type.
The only time the Thunder-2 missile was mentioned in the Defense Ministry's reports was on September 30. Then the Russian armed forces attacked the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepropetrovsk, where Grom-2 and Tochka-U missiles were produced.
What is Yuzhmash
The Southern Machine-Building Plant in Dnepropetrovsk was founded in 1944, when the Soviet army liberated the city. Initially, it was planned that the company would be an automobile manufacturer. And Belarusian MAZ trolleybuses, as well as MTZ and YMZ tractors, really gathered on it at different times.
However, during the Soviet period, Yuzhmash was known primarily as one of the largest rocket-building enterprises of the Union. In particular, in the 1950s and 60s, the plant developed and produced the R-12 Sandal, the most massive ballistic missile of the USSR. Then the R-14 and the R-23 "Well Done" strategic missile systems were created there.
After the collapse of the USSR, Yuzhmash produced Zenit launch vehicles for the Russian Sea Launch space program, part of the units for the American Antares space rocket, as well as engines for the European Vega launch vehicle. In addition, the Ukrainian plant also built Russian strategic missiles "Voevoda" ("Satan" according to the NATO classification).
What is "Thunder-2"
The operational tactical missile system "Grom-2" is a new product of Yuzhmash. His trials were reported in 2019. Due to the start of the special operation, Kiev had to postpone them. Grom-2 is a mobile launcher for ground-to-ground missiles on the chassis of a five-axle high-terrain truck.
Its progenitor, the Grom complex, has been developed since 1994 and, according to the statements of the Ukrainian authorities, was capable of striking targets within a radius of up to 500 km.
Another well-known product of Yuzhmash is the Tochka-U missiles. This is a modification of the Soviet Tochka missiles, the development of which began in 1984. This single-stage solid-fuel guided missile is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 15-120 km with an accuracy of up to 50 meters. According to data for 2021, Ukraine had 90 launchers and up to 700 Tochka-U missiles.
On September 30, 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the armed forces struck Dnepropetrovsk and destroyed the workshops of the plant where the assembly of the Grom-2 and Tochka-U missiles took place. These workshops were located on the territory of the production association "Southern Machine-Building Plant".
On November 17 last year, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal announced missile strikes on Yuzhmash. The head of the Dnipro regional military administration, Valentin Reznichenko, said that after the Russian attack, a fire started at the rocket and space enterprise.
Mikhail Kotlyar