Russia’s new S8000 Banderole light cruise missile is now fully-deployed with armed forces attacking Ukraine and after more than a year of testing is now being mass produced, Ukrainian news platforms reported on Wednesday citing Air Force intelligence. Factory output is at least ten missiles day and thanks to its success in combat production quantities are likely to rise, the Ukrainian OSINT research group OKA_GORA reported on Thursday.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The Banderole (Russian: Бандероль = Small mailed package, often of books or magazines) is a low-cost missile assembled with key components from China, the US and South Korea. Unlike legacy Russian cruise missiles it carries no on-board anti-jammers, cannot fly a complicated flight path nor launch flares to avoid potential interceptors. The Banderole’s 220-330 pound warhead is about three times smaller than half ton warheads typically carried by conventional Russian cruise missiles. To date Russia has mostly used the Banderole missile as a decoy to cover heavy cruise missile strikes, or to hit targets thought not well-protected by Ukrainian air defenses. With an observed speed of 300-375 mph the Banderole is significantly slower than heavy Russian cruise missiles typically flying subsonic at speeds around 500–560 mph. However, the Banderole’s flight characteristics and jet engine heat signature can make it look like a “real” cruise missile on Ukrainian air space tracking networks.
Cheap, Deadly, Difficult-to-Intercept Russian Cruise Missile Now in Mass Production
Kremlin engineers first announced the Banderole missile in mid-2025. Now Russian aircraft are launching ten a night, mostly at Odesa, equal to its production rate of ten weapons daily.
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