New homing heads allow for missile trajectory adjustments in the final seconds
Russian military forces have equipped Iskander ballistic missiles with optical and radar homing heads. This upgrade is aimed at increasing the precision of strikes against critical infrastructure, specifically bridges. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine (Тетяна Степанова) citing The Telegraph, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
Technical improvements allow munitions to change course during flight, significantly increasing their effectiveness against stationary targets. Thanks to integrated guidance systems, the missiles can make adjustments in the final seconds before impact.
Technological Features of Upgraded Missiles
As noted by advisor to the President of Ukraine Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov, the implemented technology ensures a margin of error of just a few meters. Using optical and radar scanning shortly before detonation allows for more effective evasion of Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.
Professor of military strategy Mauro Gilli explains that traditional ballistic missiles moved primarily under the influence of gravity during the final stage of their trajectory, which limited their accuracy. This modernization fundamentally changes that approach, allowing missiles to be actively guided until the moment of impact.
Impact on Infrastructure and Power Grid
According to information from Ukrainian officials, one of the invaders’ goals is to destabilize the power transmission system between different regions. Strikes on bridges, while not leading to their complete destruction, paralyze logistics and public transport in major cities, particularly in Kyiv.
Research fellow at the GLOBSEC think tank Maksym Beznosiuk emphasizes that Russia is attempting to split Ukraine’s power grid along the Dnieper River. The enemy’s strategy involves creating an “islanding mode,” where power nodes lose the ability to exchange capacity and operate in an isolated state.
Such actions aim not only to degrade living conditions for the civilian population but also to exert systematic pressure on the defense industry and the country’s lifeline systems. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously confirmed that the enemy aims to divide Ukraine territorially and energetically through systematic attacks on strategic river crossings.
Illustrative photo: Оксана Іванець / АрміяInform / CC BY 4.0
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