Russia fails to meet military missile production goals due to sanctions — Ukrainian intel

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence reported this on its War&Sanctions portal in the Components in Weapons section, publishing an interactive map and data on the 116 enterprises engaged in producing the Kh-59M2/M2A air-launched missile. According to the intelligence, about 40% of these companies—nearly 50—are still not under sanctions from any nation. Even so, Russia is already facing serious problems in meeting state defense contracts.

“A constant shortage of domestic and foreign component bases, limited production capacity, and schedule disruptions force Russian enterprises to regularly report failure to meet missile production timelines. Not even the cannibalization of old systems helps—Russia is massively dismantling and adapting old R95 engines and seeker head components,” Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said.

Intelligence also recorded cases where mass-dimensional dummies were installed on Kh-59 missiles instead of active radar homing heads (ARH seekers). “The ARH seeker is the most expensive part of the missile and at the same time the main bottleneck for Russian manufacturing,” the agency emphasized.

At the same time, dozens of Russian companies producing electronic components, guidance systems, and other key parts of the Kh-59 remain off sanctions lists. Their products enable adaptation and modernization of turbojet engines, prolonging the life of weapons used daily to kill Ukrainian civilians.

“These examples prove that sanctions work. Further pressure and the expansion of sanctions on enterprises supplying lower-tier components could further slow the production pace of Russia’s primary strike weapons,” the intelligence added.

• Over the past year, the Ukrainian Air Force’s daily reports have been full of references to attacks by Shahed drones and cruise missiles. Most often, these are Kh-59 missiles.