Click to see full-size image. (Rostec)
Russia has provided new details about its Dan-T loitering munition, describing it as a relatively low-cost weapon that combines the range and precision associated with cruise missiles with the maneuverability of a drone.
In a statement posted to Telegram on September 30, Rostec, Russia’s state defense corporation, said the Dan-T has already been used in combat and that its design is part of a broader development of unmanned weapons that increasingly overlap with traditional cruise missiles.
“In fact, a classic cruise missile is already a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. However, not every fixed-wing UAV is a cruise missile. Nevertheless, in the new S-71M, S-71K, and Dan-T models, this distinction is blurred. These systems are specially designed to perform the functions of cruise missiles and possess the corresponding precision, maneuverability, and range. At the same time, they are significantly cheaper than conventional missiles,” Rostec told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.
Rostec said the Dan-T is designed to be launched from jets and helicopters, including foreign platforms, and claimed its effectiveness had been demonstrated by “hundreds of successful launches” against targets in Ukraine. The company also said it expects interest from foreign customers.
The Dan-T is powered by a small jet engine and is designed to fly autonomously toward its target after launch. Rostec has also said the munition has a flight mode intended to make it more difficult for air defense systems to detect and intercept.
Specifications displayed by Rosoboronexport at the El Alamein Airshow in Egypt earlier this month gave the Dan-T a maximum launch weight of 268 kilograms, a 130-kilogram warhead, a maximum speed of 500 kilometers per hour and a claimed range of 450 kilometers. The weapon uses a combined satellite and inertial navigation system.
The weapon has also attracted attention because of reported plans for much larger production. In August, Ukrainian veteran and military analyst Dmytro Putiata, known as Kriegsforscher, said Russia planned to produce about 10,000 Dan-T munitions in 2027.
A later September report by RBC-Ukraine cited sources saying Russia could raise the figure even further, to as many as 14,000 Dan-T weapons next year.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
