During the special military operation, the Russian Mi-28MN (Night Hunter) helicopter uses various types of guided and unguided weapons.
The military aviation magazine "Borbtovoy Zhurnal Voennoleta" recently published a video showing the use of S-13 (Tolmasse) heavy unguided missiles.
The same channel also posted another video on Wednesday showing the “Night Hunter” helicopter using a third-generation missile, known as the LMUR, or “Product 305” or Kh-39.
This munition is highly accurate and has repeatedly hit targets as small as a window vent. However, its operator has the capability to redirect the missile mid-flight when a more important or dangerous target becomes necessary.
During serial production, this weapon is constantly being improved. For example, reports indicated that the missile's maximum flight range reached twenty-five kilometers.
Here are some additional details about this new missile:
Advanced technical details
Warhead and destructive power :
The missile has a high-explosive, fragmentation warhead weighing 25 kg, and the missile is designed to destroy a wide range of targets, from heavy armor and tanks to structures and fortifications.
The "hand-in-the-loop" guidance system :
The secret to this missile's accuracy lies in an advanced guidance system that combines several technologies, with the advantage of human control in the loop:
Flight stages : The first flight stage relies on an inertial navigation system and satellites .
Human control : The missile's head (electric-optical thermal seeker) sends live images directly to the helicopter's cockpit screen, where the human operator, sometimes called the "air gunner," sits. This operator has complete control of the missile until the moment of impact, allowing them to redirect the missile in flight, abort the mission, and precisely target specific weak points..
Practical application : Combat uses of the missile have demonstrated its superior ability to accurately hit very small targets such as "vents," comparable to the accuracy of munitions used in drones..
The missile is designed to be launched from several aerial platforms, most notably Mi-28NM (Night Hunter) and Ka-52M (Alligator) helicopters , in addition to the Mi-8MNP-2.
The LMUR missile (Kh-39/Product 305) represents a qualitative leap in the arsenal of Russian attack helicopters, as it transforms them into a long-range sniper platform capable of destroying targets without risking approaching enemy air defenses.
