The Defense Ministry of Ukraine named strengthening of air defense, including the development of Coral anti-aircraft missiles among the priorities for 2024, Liga reports.
On the air of the national telethon, Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said that in 2024, attention will be paid to the production of air defense equipment – from conventional portable surface-to-air missile systems to air defense systems with a range of more than a hundred kilometers. This may include the indigenous Coral SAM that is being developed.
Back in June 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian “Luch” design bureau presented a new guided anti-aircraft missile, Coral, for medium-range systems.
“Coral should work against ballistic targets. Of course, not all classes, but it must work on ballistic targets,” Luch Design Bureau head Oleh Korostelev said at the time.
The ballistic targets are harder to shoot down due to their higher speed.
According to Korostelev, the missile under development will be equipped with the Onyx active homing head from the Ukrainian company Radionix.
Korostelev also emphasized that the basis for the creation of the new anti-aircraft missile was “70% complete”
Korostelev also underscored that the foundation for the development of the new anti-aircraft missile is “70% complete.” This includes the detection and target designation stations, core missile components, software for the system, and the command and launch vehicle platforms.
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