Russian ballistic missile elements retrieved from a 2024 strike in Dnipro present that the weapon, referred to as “Oreshnik” (or “Kedr”), depends on outdated expertise, together with Soviet-era vacuum tubes and mechanical gyroscopes.
This is in accordance with a video investigation published by NCS on January 11, 2026, based mostly on an evaluation performed by Ukraine’s Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations.
In the NCS report, Ukrainian weapons specialists stroll journalists via the missile particles, describing its inside structure. “Yuri Gagarin flew with the same type of gyroscope,” one professional remarked, referring to the navigation system discovered contained in the missile wreckage.
According to the analysts, whereas Russia has promoted the weapon as a breakthrough, the design and elements recommend legacy expertise repurposed from older packages.
The missile makes use of an inertial navigation system guided by an analog gyroscope. Control boards recovered from the particles present the presence of glass-encased electron tubes—possible krytrons or high-frequency resonators—suggesting the missile structure is not totally digital.
Some elements bore manufacturing markings from 2018, indicating they might have been meant for earlier tasks.
Last night time, russia launched an Oreshnik ballistic missile on Lviv Oblast.
Targeted at civilians dwelling in a area far behind the frontline, this IRBM reached the velocity of roughly 13,000 km/h.#russiaisaterroriststate pic.twitter.com/Z7BrT5XiaM
— UNITED24 (@U24_gov_ua) January 9, 2026
In addition, NCS footage contains the deployment mechanism for the missile’s payload. The system is designed to launch six submunitions, every fragmenting additional into smaller kinetic projectiles.
However, analysts famous {that a} strike close to Lviv on January 9, 2026, demonstrated practical failures: solely 4 submunition clusters and two remoted components reached the bottom, with broad dispersal suggesting poor accuracy or partial disintegration throughout reentry.
-fe851b90d8a0ba797c376cd41cd6a9ac.png)
Ukrainian intelligence believes the warhead depends purely on kinetic vitality and mass, not explosives. According to NCS, the missile might exceed Mach 11 (roughly 3,740 m/s) throughout its terminal section, stressing each steerage and structural integrity.
While Russia continues to promote Oreshnik as a next-generation weapon, the findings launched by NCS and Ukrainian forensic specialists recommend the system incorporates legacy {hardware} and suffers from efficiency limitations in real-world deployments.
Earlier on January 9, Russia launched its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile at a state-owned facility in Lviv, simply miles from the Polish border, inflicting solely minor structural harm, Reuters reported. The missile carried inert submunitions and was a part of a broader in a single day assault involving drones and different missiles.
-f223fd1ef983f71b86a8d8f52216a8b2.jpg)
We report from the entrance strains to indicate the fact of conflict. Your assist helps us keep there and inform the tales that matter.