The Russian Federation has made yet another informational leak regarding its "Iskander" ballistic missile, which in a new version allegedly has a range of 1000 km. This time, it is claimed that everything is ready for its serial production.
This information was reported by a distinctly English-language resource that has a questionable reputation and consistently publishes stories about analogous Russian weapons based on received "guidelines," as noted by the Center for Counteracting Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council.
From the perspective of Defense Express, it should be noted that Russian sources first mentioned the intention to develop an "Iskander" with a greater range back in February 2024. At that time, it was discussed that if a new solid-fuel engine were installed, then "in theory," the missile's range could be increased to 1000 km, or it would allow for an increase in the warhead weight from the current 480 kg to 800 kg.
By July, an image of the upgraded ballistic missile for the Iskander OTRK appeared. It featured a larger rocket engine and is supposedly the conditional "Iskander-1000". Footage of it was part of a video published in honor of the 78th anniversary of the Kapustin Yar missile testing ground.
However, no data about this development, timelines, or actual capabilities have been disclosed. Meanwhile, in the video, this missile appears to launch, possibly for the first time. Typically, there is a significant amount of time from such tests to mass production.
Thus, it is impossible to claim that there are no modernization projects for their ballistic missiles in the Russian Federation. Moreover, everything that previously restrained the Kremlin from such active developments was an attempt to hide its violations of the now-defunct INF Treaty.
At the same time, it is difficult to say at what stage they currently are, especially considering that they are facing obvious difficulties even with the production of existing 9M723 ballistic missiles, which have a declared range of up to 500 km. Otherwise, the Russian Federation would not be interested in KN-23 missiles from North Korea, which are supplied at a rate of 150 per year.