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Meet Russia’s Dan-T: A Cheap Cruise Missile Moscow Plans to Mass-Produce in 2027
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Russia plans to produce approximately 10,000 new Dan-T cruise missiles in 2027 to expand its strike capabilities during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Information regarding the potential production volumes of the prospective weapon comes from Ukrainian military veteran Dmytro Putiata, known as analyst kriegsforscher, who provided details on the potential production volume in a post on X.
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The Dan-T cruise missile can be launched from both ground and aerial platforms. Aircraft capable of deploying the munition include Su-25SM3, Su-30SM, Su-34, and Su-57 jets, alongside Mi-28 helicopters.
“In my opinion, in 2027 we should expect an extremely large number of problems from these cheap, hard-to-intercept missiles. The Russians plan to produce about 10,000 missiles of the ‘Dan-T’ type alone in 2027,” the analyst wrote.
Images shared by the analyst show a potential ground launcher mounted on a wheeled truck chassis, configured with transport-launch containers capable of carrying two missiles.
“The missile has a flight range of 500 km with a 135 kg warhead,” kriegsforscher said. The analyst noted that the scale of projected production poses an increased threat due to the high volume of low-cost, hard-to-intercept weapons, as well as the variety of launch systems including ground platforms, ships, and military aircraft.
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Russian defense authorities are also prioritizing domestic components for the Dan-T to replace foreign-made parts. Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, previously commented on the program.
Designed to target armored vehicles, fortified field positions, and light infrastructure, the Dan-T has technical specifications similar to the S8000 Banderol, a munition launched from Mi-28 helicopters and heavy Orion drones.
Work is currently underway to equip the Dan-T with a Kometa-16 antenna array and an electro-optical terminal guidance system.
The command of the Russian Aerospace Forces is considering shifting entirely to procuring the Dan-T while phasing out the Banderol system. A primary driver behind the transition is a cost reduction of roughly 35% compared to the Banderol.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence data cited on May 15, 2026, Russia was rapidly expanding its production of long-range strike drones with plans to manufacture 110,000 UAVs throughout 2026, aiming to reach an output rate of approximately 500 units per day by early 2027.
Intelligence projections indicated that Moscow sought to boost its daily production from around 142 drones in January to nearly 455 by December 2026. Roughly 55% of the total volume consisting of strike drones like the Shahed series and jet-powered Geran variants, while the remainder comprised decoy drones designed to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses.
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