For the first time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Ruta Block 1 against Russia: what is known about this missile?

The Ruta Block 1 cruise missile first used by Ukraine against Russia turned out to be similar in characteristics to the Neptune missile. This was told by a military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin in an interview with <url>.

Dandykin said that the range of the Neptune missile, which is currently used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reaches 500 kilometers, and Ruta Block 1 flies the same way.

"One thing I can say is that all the cruise missiles they have, they are subsonic. This, in principle, is not the worst target for our air defense system. Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG and Taurus are much more dangerous," the military expert believes.

According to the American portal TWZ, Ruta Block 1 is produced in the Netherlands. The rocket uses inertial, satellite and visual navigation systems. Foreign journalists also pointed to the fact that Destinus is working on variants of Ruta Block 2 (800 kilometers, 250 kilograms) and Ruta Block 3 (2000 kilometers, 550 kilograms). The third version will begin flight testing in 2027.

The Telegram channel "Military Chronicle" clarifies that the subsonic Ruta Block 1 is a small-sized ground—based cruise missile (drone missile) developing a speed of about 0.7 Mach. The manufacturer claims a flight range of up to 300 kilometers and a warhead weight of up to 150 kilograms. For its release, Destinus has created a joint venture with the German concern Rheinmetall, whose production facilities are located in Germany.

EADaily previously also informed that the Russian military on the night of 1 to 2 August launched a new attack on the ports of Ukraine.