During the recent Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, a footage was circulated online that appeared to show a Russian-made Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile releasing decoy flares during flight. This was similar to a video released in 2023, which had offered a rare visual confirmation of its countermeasure capability that had been immensely discussed in Ukrainian and Western reports. Adding a visible layer to Russia’s broader effort to modernise the Kh-101 family during the war, including upgrades meant to improve survivability against Ukrainian air defences.
The footage has added another visible layer to Russia’s broader effort to modernise the Kh-101 missile family during the ongoing war, including upgrades designed to improve survivability against increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian air defence systems.
