Tel Aviv: Russia has significantly ramped up its domestic missile production, exceeding targets by 110% to 120% for major weapons such as the Kh-101, Kalibr, and Iskander.
Western and allied intelligence assessments indicate that some of this expanded industrial output and transferred Russian-made hardware have found their way to Iran to help reconstitute its missile stockpiles, alongside extensive satellite targeting intelligence and military aircraft cooperation.
Israeli sources said that the Russian effort to expand missile production has a price in the form of quality and reliability issues. “Quality control at the assembly lines is at a lower level than before,” one Israeli source said.
Ukrainian military intelligence reports that Russian defence plants operate under a heavily simplified technical quality control system to meet strict output quotas, driven by severe penalties for factory managers who miss targets. These problems result in some high-profile effects – one is the temporary stop of the assembly line of the Kinzhal.
The acceleration in production is explained by the demand for missiles used in the Ukraine war and by supplying new missiles to Iran, which uses the cease-fire to fill its arsenals.
Russia’s defence sector continues to outpace baseline manufacturing quotas for precision-guided munitions (such as Kh-101 and Iskander systems) despite its own active wartime consumption in Ukraine. Beyond direct munitions, Moscow has expanded tactical and orbital surveillance sharing with Tehran, helping coordinate targeting data .
Western intelligence organisations assess that the Russians have achieved the following monthly production levels in July – Zircon – 5 missiles; Oniks – 8 missiles; KH 101-87 missiles; Kliber – 29 missiles and Iskander 65 missiles.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
