The Russian army is eliminating the weaknesses of its army. Moscow, through the defense company Kalashnikov, announced this Friday in a press release published on Telegram, the future deployment of “improved” Vikhr-1 missiles.
“The Kalashnikov Group has fulfilled its obligations in 2025 under the state contract for the delivery of Vikhry-1 air-guided missiles. UR was delivered to the customer in its entirety, in accordance with the terms of the contract,” the missile manufacturer wrote in a press release.
“Very effective product”
Since being deployed on the Ukrainian front, the Vikhr missile has been the target of criticism. Although highly effective against armored vehicles, helicopters must be stationary when firing, leaving the aircraft vulnerable to enemy attack equipment. The short range of the missile is also mentioned: an average of 10 kilometers.
To address this, Moscow has asked Kalashnikov manufacturers for “weapon upgrades for the Ka-52 attack helicopter”. According to the company, the project has been implemented for two years by “specialists”, based on “experience gained during military operations” in Ukraine.
Kalashnikov declined to explicitly reveal the improvements seen on the Vikhr-1. According to several specialist sites, the missile must maintain laser guidance, supersonic speed and, most importantly, a penetration capacity of up to 800 mm behind an explosive reactive protective layer.
“Vikhr-1 remains a highly effective product (…) which is actively used in combat zones and in border regions to destroy maneuverable ground armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, welcomed its manufacturer.
Originally developed as the 9K121 Vikhr and adopted in the 1990s, the Vikhr-1 was designed to give Russian attack helicopters a longer-range combat capability than previous radio-controlled missiles.
Currently, this weapon is primarily used on the Ka-52 Alligator helicopter, which can carry up to 12 Vikhr missiles to allow them to launch rapid salvos. This missile remains one of the main precision air-to-ground munitions used by Russian helicopters.
