Ukraine intel: Russia has 250 of the Iskander ballistic missile in stock

The Russian armed forces have 250 of the potent 9M723 Iskander ballistic missile and 50 of the KN-23 North Korean equivalents in stock, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) told LIGA.net on the 12 July. This is in combination with 60 launchers positioned on Ukraine’s border, the publication adds. 

LIGA reported in May that Russia had 580 Iskander and KN-23 missiles in its stockpile, representing a very significant supply of the weapons. The GUR also indicated that Russia had 300 of the Iskander-K cruise missiles in May, which are effective albeit less survivable missiles than the ballistic weapons. 

The LIGA article does not provide a full account for the difference between the missile stockpile in May and July, stating only that 88 were fired at Ukrainian cities, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. The difference could be accounted for by tactical strikes with the Iskander. It is the leading edge of Russia’s reconnaissance-strike (recce-strike) contour, which combines reconnaissance and strike assets into a real-time targeting cycle. Recce-strike is tasked with finding high-priority or high-value targets like helicopters, air defence systems, and command and control nodes, and striking them before they can relocate. Iskander is used extensively for these types of strikes throughout the frontline. 

Its range – up to 500 km for the ballistic missiles – enables it to stay out of reach of most Ukrainian systems. And its mobility means that it frequently evades counter-strikes; this is evidenced by the fact that Ukraine only claimed its first Iskander kill in June this year. 

An Iskander ballistic missile battery moving into position to fire its missiles. There are two launch vehicles here, as well as two reload vehicles, as well as two command and control vehicles. Credit: Russian MoD.

The 60 launchers mentioned would reflect five brigades worth of Iskander launchers, based on the pre-2022 understanding of Russia’s order of battle. Every brigade was to be equipped with 12 Transport Erector Launchers (TELs), each capable of carrying two of the 9M723 ballistic missiles or two cruise missiles. The cruise missiles are designated 9M728 or 9M729 and differ in range; they are closely related to the 3M-14 Kalibr family of missiles, which is ship-launched. CSIS, the US think tank, stated that there were 11 Iskander brigades in 2019, but there may be as many as 13, with two new brigades having been formed in 2024. 

Iskander ballistic missile production

Remains of an Iskander ballistic missile equipped with a cluster munition warhead that was fired at Ukraine. Credit: Національна поліція України, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

A separate June report from the Kyiv Independent indicates that Russia is producing between 60 and 70 9M723 Iskander ballistic missiles per month, a significant increase over the 40 produced each month in 2024. It is worth noting that Russia’s total long-range missile production in 2022 was around 40 per month, including all types. The figure of 60 Iskander missiles per month does not include 10-15 Kinzhals, which are an air-launched version of the missile. 

Russia is also estimated to be producing 60 to 70 Kh-101 cruise missiles, 20 to 30 Iskander cruise missiles, 25 to 30 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missiles, and 20 to 30 3M55 Onyx and 3M22 Zircon anti-ship missiles per month, according to the Kyiv Independent. The source for these figures is also the GUR, which also indicated that there were around 2,000 cruise missiles in Russia’s stockpiles at the time, although some 700 of them were anti-ship missiles. 

The figures reflect how Russia has significantly and successfully expanded its strike missile production. Just 250 Iskander ballistic missiles were produced in 2023 and 420 Kh-101s. Both of these figures are now in excess of 700 per year, enabling Russia to both stockpile missiles for a potential confrontation with NATO and maintain its strike campaign against Ukraine’s cities. This missile increase has been accompanied by a massive increase in production of the Geran one-way attack drones, which are increasingly pressuring Ukraine’s air defences and striking targets with greater regularity. At the same time, Ukraine’s stocks of air defence missiles are dwindling (which has always been the case to some extent) despite multiple pledges of additional missiles and systems.

Ukraine is to receive four new IRIS-T air defence systems and missiles under a €2.2 billion (£1.8 billion/$2.4 billion) contract signed with Diehl Defence during a meeting between Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, on May 28. The systems have already proven effective and able to engage multiple cruise missiles; however, they are not suited to engaging ballistic missiles like the Iskander, which Ukraine continues to have a low success rate against. Patriot air defence systems are well-designed for countering ballistic missiles, but the lack of interceptors and systems means that Ukraine is not always in a position to counter Iskander launches, especially when they are deployed as a part of a complex wave of strikes with different missiles reaching Ukraine simultaneously. 

Calibre comment

The type of long-range strike capability embodied by the Iskander ballistic missile is something lacking in Western forces. Its range and warhead options – which include cluster warheads, high-explosive, and ground-penetrating – mean that it can engage single high-priority targets, or a range of vehicles like air defence platforms. It is often combined with reconnaissance drones and when Ukraine’s air defence is weakened, it is common to see Iskander strikes up to 150 km behind the frontline. The US is developing the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), but uptake amongst allies has been slow. And Lithuania has acquired the ATACMS, which Ukraine has used to good effect. But Russia has demonstrated that magazine depth is really key for a long, high-intensity war – it has likely used hundreds of Iskander ballistic missiles and thousands of cruise missiles against Ukraine. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on July 15, 2025. The lead image shows the launch of an Iskander ballistic missile, credit for that image is the Russian MoD.