Russia has developed new Kh-BD cruise missiles and armed them with Tu-160 supersonic strategic missile-carrying bombers. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on Saturday, September 16.

"Carries (the plane – ed.) Kh-BD missile with a range of more than 6,500 km," said the commander of the long-range aviation of the Aerospace Forces of the aggressor country of Russia, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, during a visit to the Knevichi airfield in Primorye by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu and DPRK leader Chen Un.

According to Kobylash, the carrying capacity of the Tu-160 is 100 tons. And Shoigu explained that the bombers were equipped with two clusters of six Kh-BD missiles.

Serial copy or "plywood model"?

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko explained that the X-DB now exists only in the form of a prototype and it is not worth waiting for its mass use in Ukraine.

This was reported by the military-political observer of the Information Resistance group on Telegram.

"As for the Kh-BD missiles... So, Kim Jong-un was shown the Kh-BD cruise missile, which few people had heard of, and a wave immediately rushed in, what kind of Wunderwaffe it was and what it could threaten. In this regard, I think a little clarity should be made. For the first time, they started talking about the X-DB missile in 2017. This missile is a further development of the Kh-101/555 air-launched cruise missiles with the use of the Tu-160M2 carrier, which is unique for Russian aviation. In total, today the Russian Aerospace Forces have 14 combat-ready Tu-160s, and 2 Tu-160Ms have not yet been brought to fruition," the expert explained, adding that the conclusions suggest themselves.

Kovalenko noted that the Kh-BD missile is about 11 meters long and has a body diameter of about 0.8 m. According to him, it can indeed have a range of up to 6.5 thousand kilometers, but a number of questions remain.

"Has it passed the test cycle? Why hasn't it been reported since 2017, while much more secret ones have been promoting themselves non-stop? And most importantly, whether the serial copy was demonstrated to Kim Jong-un, or a "plywood model," the expert clarifies. "Overall, given the highly specialized application on a limited medium and the very strange development of the project, I do not rule out that the North Korean butcher saw the second rather than the first."

According to Kovalenko, there is every reason to believe that the X-DB now exists only in the form of a prototype and we should not expect its mass use in Ukraine. "And if this happens, then only a single one, for advertising purposes and in areas with very weak air defense, since there are significant doubts about its 'breakthrough capabilities,'" the expert concluded.

It will be recalled that the occupiers got a 2S31 - a 120 mm self-propelled artillery gun on the BMP-3 chassis. Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko explained why this is not a disaster.