Forget the Tomahawk! The terrible weapons with which the Ukrainians can strike even deeper into the heart of Russia: “Romania is collaborating on this missile”

The Ukrainians have some important weapons that can more or less forget the famous Tomahawk missiles that the Americans refuse to give to Kiev. General (r) Alexandru Grumaz explains, for “Adevărul”, what they are.

The Flamingo missile can hit the heart of Russia. PHOTO: X

The Ukrainians hoped in vain that they would receive the famous Tomahawk missiles, but predictably, the United States ultimately refused, hoping that this would convince Putin to come to the negotiating table. But even without the Tomahawk, the Ukrainians and Russians continued to butcher each other and cynically, the former forced to defend themselves and the latter forced by Putin and his minions to attack a sister Slavic nation, in a seemingly endless war.

In a computer war that fools only the naive, each camp claims that the other is exhausted and will soon be defeated, but the reality is quite different. Beyond the war fought to an extent with Soviet weapons in the 70s and 80s, both combatants have been able to innovate and adapt older weapons or even invent new ones. General (r) Alexandru Grumaz explains, for “The Truth”, what the two armies are based on and which are the star weapons with which the two combatants try to suppress each other.

As in the “Star Wars” saga

The general talks about robot drones and the role of artificial intelligence in this war of the 3rd millennium. The Ukrainians have used such weapons successfully, but their enemy has also adapted quickly.

“First, AI-coordinated robot drones. Ukraine is already operationally using swarms of autonomous drones capable of making decisions on the ground. They identify, select targets, adjust routes, regroup if someone falls out of formation. Last but not least, they reduce the need for operators and have a devastating effect on enemy military personnel, equipment and infrastructure. The situation has reached such that up to 90% of strikes on Russian targets are carried out by drones, compared to 70–75% last year”, explains General Grumaz.

Missile that hits further like Tomahawk

Perhaps the undisputed star of the Ukrainian military is the Flamingo missile, which can to some extent compensate for the United States' refusal to send the Tomahawk to Ukraine. In fact, the Ukrainian missile can hit targets 3,000 kilometers away, almost double the 1,500-2,000 kilometers the Tomahawk can normally hit. It is true, however, the effect of American missiles is more devastating.

“Ukrainian long-range cruise missile Flamingo (FP-5) is a special weapon. Recently developed in Ukraine, with an incredible range of up to 3,000 kilometers, it can strike deep into targets such as weapons factories, strategic commands, critical infrastructure or even those in central Russia. It has entered production and is considered the most effective missile ever produced by Ukraine”says General Grumaz.

The troops of Kiev invented another weapon that will certainly be talked about in the coming period, the Palianytsia.

“Palianytsia is a Ukrainian turbojet drone-missile. It combines the characteristics of drones and missiles in a «difficult to counter» system, with a turbojet engine, high speed (900 km/h), a range of 650 kilometers and a payload of about 100 kilograms. It is also worth noting the low cost (between 50,000 and 100,000 dollars), production domestic, and deep-strike capability in occupied territory — giving Kiev more strategic autonomy in deep strikes,” adds the general.

The Ukrainians also score in the artillery section. Although outnumbered here as well, the Ukrainians resist valiantly, and the Bohdana self-propelled guns were effective.

“Artillery «Bohdana» (2S22 self-propelled & 2P22 towed). The 2S22 Bohdana is a self-propelled 155 mm gun, built locally, with a fire range of up to 60 km, delivered in the number of tens — 154 systems produced in 2024. The 2P22 Bohdana is the towed variant, easier to deploy, already in the equipment of the brigade of artillery — both offering firepower to match, supported by NATO interoperability. Also worth mentioning are the “Smart” munitions with extended range – GLSDB and SDB (Small Diameter Bomb). GLSDB (Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb). Launched from HIMARS, with a double range (about 150 km), it also has better protection against Russian electronic jamming and is already in use on the front. The GBU-39 SDB (Light Airborne Bomb) from modified MiG-29 aircraft, is notable for up to 90% accuracy and high resistance to jamming. This delivers accurate hits with major impact“, claims the general.

Ukrainians are outdoing themselves

And the fact that Russia is superior in electronic and informational warfare forced the Ukrainians to find smart solutions here as well, so as not to be overwhelmed.

General Alexandru Grumaz. PHOTO: Personal archive

“Military interference — GPS spoofing/jamming by Russia has made securing airspace and targeting weapons much more difficult. Ukraine is adapting quickly: using inertial navigation, optical systems, and LEO satellite constellations as back-up to counter this type of electron warfare“, he says.

If in 2022, the Turkish Bayraktar drones were a real revelation on the Ukrainian front and helped them repel waves of Russian attacks, over time they became history, after Russia found an antidote to them.

Since then, both armies have innovated enormously. And the effort of the Ukrainians, who do not have Moscow's war machine, is all the more remarkable.

“Ukrainians came up with Peklo – long-range rocket-drone with a turbojet engine, combining the characteristics of a kamikaze drone with those of a cruise missile. It has a speed of up to 700 km/h and a range of 700 kilometers, and is composed of about 70% local components. And I would also mention the Dragon Drone (Dracarys) – an incendiary UAV that it sprays at temperatures of around 2,000 °C over enemy positions, penetrating armor, burning vegetation and causing panic among opposing forces. It is used to open lines of attack and damage enemy morale. Let's not forget the ground-based Igla missile robot, a remote-controlled robot equipped with an Igla surface-to-air missile launcher, capable of shooting down enemy aircraft, helicopters or drones and whose role is to protect the infantry in the front line”points out the general.

The terrible rocket on which the Ukrainians collaborate with the Romanians

Ukraine lost most of its fleet in 2014. At that time, Ukrainian ships were ceded to Russia without a fight, along with the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, the Ukrainian military has completely changed and managed to avoid any major Russian sea landings, thanks to weapons developed in Ukraine itself. The general also explains that Romania collaborates in the development of this terrible weapon.

“Long Neptune is an extended version of the R-360 Neptune anti-ship missile. It increases the range to 1,000 km, with confirmed uses in strikes on targets in Russia (distant such as Rostov or Kursk). Romania collaborate in the production and development of the variant”he claims.

The Russians did not passively watch the innovations of the Ukrainians either, but developed and perfected their own weapons. Russia has recently developed the dreaded Oreshnik, the hypersonic missile launched once over Ukraine, for demonstration purposes, but which wreaks havoc.

Oreshnik, the missile that unleashes hell where it hits

“Russia has come up with new weapons systems. Oreshnik is a hypersonic missile (Mach 10), capable of nuclear or conventional payloads, mass-produced and with plans to deploy in Belarus by the end of the year. It can hit the whole European territory. We cannot forget the famous Shahed / Geran drones. The scale of Russian drone attacks is huge, hundreds, even thousands per night, including modified Iranian drones (Shahed turned Russian – Geran), with AI autonomy, jam resistance and thermobaric payload. Russia is considering the creation of a military branch dedicated to drones”,
warns General Grumaz.

Also, the Russians' hovering bombs caused huge losses to the Ukrainian defenses.

“Also worth noting is the UMPB D-30SN – 90-120 km range glide bomb launched from Su-34 and Okhotnik drones. It navigates with GLONASS and inertial navigation, resistant to jamming, and provides safe long-range bombing. And there is Zircon (3M22) a hypersonic anti-ship or ground attack missile, procuring speeds of up to Mach 9 and a range of 1,000 km. Already used in Crimean attacks on naval and land targets”develops General Grumaz.

In the future, the Russians plan to develop other terrible weapons, which heralds an increasingly bloody war.

“President Putin ordered the formation, by the third quarter of 2025, of a new military branch exclusively dedicated to unmanned systems (drones). The goal is to quickly and efficiently increase capabilities in this area, given the significant impact in the existing conflict. Russia is testing and operating on an experimental scale robotic ground vehicles — from Termit buggies to compact systems of unmanned multiple-launch rocket system. A hoverboard transformed into a kamikaze drone or a Dronobus that serves as a mobile command base for wired drones are just a few examples“, he says.

The laser that destroys satellites

And that's not all. Like the Ukrainians, the Russians are developing other important drones, but they are not limited to that. A new strategic bomber is in the works.

“Russia introduces autonomous interceptor drones called Yolka, equipped with optical-electronic modules with AI functions. They can detect small drones (about one meter in aperture) up to 700-1000 m away and operate on the principle of “fire-and-forget”, already operational from spring 2025. Russia has medium and long-term projects: PAK DA – a new generation strategic bomber with stealth, flight duration of up to 30 hours and range of 12,000 km. Tests are planned until 2026, production would imply the start in 2027. Okhotnik-B (S-70) – autonomously piloted heavy stealth drone complementary to Su-57 aircraft. Series production was targeted for the second half of 2024,” is the warning of General Grumaz.

The list is completed by two other nightmare weapons, which give chills.

“The Russians also have the Peresvet laser – direct energy system with anti-satellite and anti-radar applications, already deployed in several Russian divisions, but also the Avangard – hypersonic reentry vehicle (PGLV), capable of reaching over Mach 27, used in strategic nuclear systems“, concludes General Alexandru Grumaz.

Who is General Grumaz?

General (r) Alexandru Grumaz is a graduate of the US Defense University with a master's degree in Defense Resource Strategy and the Senior Executives program in National and International Security, John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Former Consul General of Romania in Shanghai, the general held important positions in the Ministry of National Defense as head of the Directorate of Defense Resources Management, director of the Directorate of Integrated Defense Planning or Inspector for Armaments. Grumaz held the position of first assistant to the Director of STS, being a specialist in telecommunications. He has expertise in strategic planning, international military and civil relations, and experience in complex budget planning and management for an organization. He is a good connoisseur of political and military life in China and the United States of America where he spent part of his military and diplomatic career. He is currently the president of the Center for Analysis and Security Studies.