The Drive:
For the first time ever, Russia has publicly displayed the launch canisters for the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile and its associated transporter erector launcher, or TEL, and offered new details about the complete system. The United States says the missile violates the terms of an important arms control agreement and has called on the Kremlin to completely and verifiably eliminate the entire system from its inventory.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense presented two 9M729 launch canisters and a single TEL to foreign military attaches and the press at its Patriot Park theme park outside of Moscow on Jan. 23, 2019. The U.S. also refers to this missile as the SSC-8. The Russians only publicly acknowledged its existence in November 2018, though it has reportedly been in development since the mid-2000s.
The 9M729/SSC-8 has an improved guidance system and a larger warhead compared to the older 9M728, also known as the Iskander-K or SSC-7, Chief of the Russian Missile and Artillery Force Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky told attendees at Patriot Park. The general officer said that this resulted in a missile that is longer, heavier, and actually has less range than its predecessor. The new TEL can also carry four missiles, while the older vehicle associated with the 9M728/SSC-7 could only fire two before needing to reload.
