Russian Aerospace Forces Began Using ‘Grom’ Guided Stand-Off Munitions Against Kiev Forces (Video)

Cruise missile “Grom-1” under the wing of the MiG-35 fighter
© Nikolai Novichkova/TASS

The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) have begun to use a new type of precision-guided, stand-off munitions against Kiev forces.

On March 12, Ukrainian sources shared footage showing the remains of the munition, known as the Grom, near an unspecified front. The Grom is a derivative from the Kh-38M air-to-ground missile, which was developed by Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV).

KTRV developed two versions of the Grom. The first version, the Grom-1 tactical cruise missile, retains the rocket engine and adds on a set of wings to achieve a range of up to 120 kilometers, three times that of the original Kh-38M. This Grom-1 maintains the 250 kg warhead of the base missile.

The second version, the Grom-2 glide bomb, adds a set of wings, maintains the original 250 kg warhead and replaces the rocket engine with a secondary warhead that weighs 165 kg. The Grom-2 has a range of up to 50 kilometers.

Both versions utilize an inertial navigation system and can be equipped with an additional GLONASS receiver. For terminal guidance, a semi-active laser, active radar homing or imaging infrared seeker can be installed to achieve pinpoint accuracy.

The Grom can be employed from all types of Russian fighter jets, including Su-34 fighter bombers and Su-35 multirole fighters.

The long range, modern guidance system and fairly heavy warhead of the Grom will allow VKS fighter jets to engage high-value Ukrainian targets, like fortified positions, air defense systems and gatherings of manpower and equipment, from a safe distance with high accuracy.

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