European defence manufacturer Destinus has produced a total of 1, 750 Ruta B 1 cruise missiles and is now nearing a production rate of 300 units per month.
Source: Destinus on its website
Details: " The first few units are tough to make. They're prototypes, but moving from prototype to scale is a real challenge ," said Sidney Berndt, Destinus Director of Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
He added that as production volumes increase, it is essential to ensure that every missile is manufactured to the same standards.
Destinus also said it develops and manufactures T 150 turbojet engines for Ruta B 1 cruise missiles in-house. The company also designs and manufactures the missile bodies, guidance systems and avionics itself.
According to the manufacturer, the Ruta Block 1 cruise missile has a range of more than 300 km and can carry a payload of up to 150 kg. It is designed for precision strikes against fixed military targets and is capable of low-altitude, terrain-following flight and navigation without access to Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals.
In April, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Destinus had established mass production of more than 2, 000 missile systems per year. However, the company did not specify how many of those were Ruta B 1 missiles.
UP also reported that Destinus had completed flight tests of its Ruta Block 2 cruise missile. Its predecessor, the Ruta Block 1, was already in mass production and being used by Ukraine's defence forces at the time.
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