- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine Turns Soviet Missiles Into Franken-Weapons to Keep Bombing Russian Forces
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s Tochka-U tactical ballistic missile system—once a Cold War relic—was the country’s most powerful ground-based strike weapon. But its stockpiles were limited.
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
When the rockets began running out, Ukrainian missile engineers came up with an inventive fix that combined ballistic missile bodies with the explosive cores of Soviet-era aerial bombs, creating a new kind of hybrid weapon, Defense Express noted on November 13.
According to a report marking the anniversary of the 19th Missile Brigade, the unit responsible for Tochka-U operations, Ukrainian rocket specialists detailed how they kept their launchers firing during the chaotic first weeks of 2022.
🇺🇦🚀 The 19th Rocket Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has released information about previously unknown facts regarding the use of TOCHKA-U type missile systems during the war:
— Visioner (@visionergeo) November 12, 2025
📍 “At the beginning of 2022, missile troops units were launching 120 km-range ballistic… pic.twitter.com/QCHYHEUq7d
The Tochka-U (9K79-1) can hit ground targets up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) away with a circular error of roughly 95 meters—respectable by 1980s standards, but with a finite arsenal.
In the early days of the invasion, these missiles were used intensively—striking Russian vehicle convoys, troop concentrations, and airfields. But the brigade’s limited stock of 9M79-1 missiles soon began to dwindle, forcing engineers to improvise.
Ukrainian 9K79 Tochka-U launch pic.twitter.com/XrYFYPSuRj
— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) May 13, 2024
How Ukraine rebuilt its arsenal
As Ukrainian missile technicians explained, “since Soviet times, storage depots had many factory-produced missile bodies without warheads.”
The military and engineers worked together to replace the original warheads with explosive sections from standard high-explosive aerial bombs.
Ukraine Launch Tochka-U missiles. pic.twitter.com/sGiuJNAEyg
— Bricktop_NAFO (@Bricktop_NAFO) March 23, 2025
Within weeks, they conducted tests and set up serial production of the modified missiles in less than a month, effectively extending the life of Ukraine’s tactical strike capability.
The Tochka-U’s missile body consists of two detachable sections—the warhead (containing the explosive payload and sensors) and the rocket stage (housing the solid-fuel engine, guidance, and control systems)—joined by six heavy bolts.
Normally, these parts are stored separately. Engineers likely inserted the aerial bomb inside the existing warhead casing, not in place of it, to preserve the rocket’s aerodynamics and stability.
Defense analysts suggest that Ukraine’s teams may have used FAB-500 high-explosive bombs, whose 500-kilogram class weight roughly matches the Tochka’s standard fragmentation warhead.
By removing the bomb’s tail assembly, its dimensions could fit the missile’s nose cone while nearly doubling the explosive payload—from 162 kilograms of TNT equivalent in the original 9N123F warhead to about 300 kilograms in the FAB-500 variant.
Possibly built from “Nuclear” Tochka components
A fascinating possibility raised by Ukrainian experts is that engineers may have used missile sections originally meant for nuclear-capable Tochka variants, Defense Express noted.
When Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the 1990s, the nuclear warheads (types 9N39 and 9N64) were transferred to Russia—but the missile bodies themselves were likely left behind, stored separately.
That means Ukraine may have inherited unused rocket stages without warheads, which later became the foundation for this modification.
If so, engineers could have fitted these spare rocket sections with repurposed or expired training warheads and inserted the FAB-500 explosive modules inside, giving new life to missiles that were never meant to be fired again.
Although the precise engineering process remains classified, the adaptation demonstrates a remarkable level of field innovation—merging aviation munitions with outdated tactical missiles to sustain Ukraine’s long-range strike capacity.
A desperate but effective solution
While the modified Tochka-U hybrid’s range and accuracy remain uncertain, the power of the new warhead is unquestionable.
Defense Express analysts note that the FAB-500’s explosive charge makes it significantly more destructive than the original Tochka fragmentation design, though it could potentially reduce flight range or stability.
For Ukraine’s 19th Missile Brigade, however, the trade-off is worth it. In the words of one officer: “Our task was to make sure the launchers never stayed silent.”
Earlier, Ukrainian forces combined the chassis of a 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer with the turret of a T-72B tank, creating a hybrid armored vehicle designed to meet the realities of the current battlefield.
-29ed98e0f248ee005bb84bfbf7f30adf.jpg)
