VIDEO : Ukraine deploys, tests brand new anti-ship missiles against mock Russian targets

Ukraine has deployed and now tested two new variants of anti-ship missiles, both of them locally modified and produced by the country’s arms industry, against mock Russian targets in the Black Sea.

According to reports and photo evidence, both types of the new anti-ship missiles were tested in Ukraine’s southwestern Odessa region. The trials were fully-fledged, with multiple missiles fired at sea-based targets hundreds of kilometers away.

The first of the two missile variants was a modified variant of the Russian-made Kh-35 turbojet cruise missile. Although basic (i.e. export) models of the missile have a range no more than 130 kilometers, the new Ukrainian version tested recently is reported to have hit a sea target 280 kilometers away – factor into this that it was launched from a ground platform, not an air platform.

The second type of missile design tested is even more of a curiosity, being an overhauled S-125M air-to-air missile modified for striking small sea craft. Recent Ukrainian tests reportedly saw eight of the missiles fired at targets an unspecified distance away, all scoring hits.

Whilst the modified Kh-35 will offer medium-range defense against warships of a displacement up to 10,000 tons (i.e. frigates and cruisers), the modified S-125Ms will offer short-range defense against smaller coastal and littoral warships.