Journalists from the American military journal Military Watch Magazine (MWM) have suggest that Russia is capable of producing a massive 300 Oreshnik Missiles Per Year.
Following Russia’s first combat use of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile on November 21, an assessment of Russia’s industrial production capacity for the new weapon system was released. It is estimated that Russia can produce up to 25 Oreshnik missiles monthly.
This class of missiles is the first of its kind developed in Russia since the 1980s, and combines a range of about 4,000 km with the ability to carry multiple warheads.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 6 that Moscow planned to supply Oreshnik missiles to neighboring Belarus after the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko inquired about the possibility of acquiring the systems.
The plans for overseas deployment so soon after the unveiling of the new class of missiles may have been a significant indicator of large-scale production.
The Oreshnik’s ability to carry both nuclear and conventional warheads and to engage up to six targets with multiple warheads makes it a highly valued means of interoperability with Western bloc forces throughout Europe and deep into the Pacific and Arctic.
The system’s significant asymmetric value as a counter to a much larger NATO force is expected to lead Moscow to deploy it in large numbers.
However, there remains a significant possibility that increased missile production could come at the expense of reduced production of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, most notably the RS-24 Yars system, with a monthly production capacity of 25 missiles, potentially requiring the conversion of Yars production facilities to Oreshnik.
However, production of the Yars system in the 2010s averaged fewer than 22 missiles per year, making the 300-missile production level for its new shorter-range counterparts a particularly significant increase.
