Russia's AS-15 Kent strategic cruise missile with a launch range of 2,500 km falls in Poland

Last month, an unknown missile was discovered in a forest in Poland near the town of Bydgoszcz. Specialists at the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology determined that it was a Russian Kh-55 (NATO codified AS-15 Kent) missile.

Here's What We Know

The missile was found in the forest by a passer-by. The Polish army does not use Kh-55s. Therefore, the version that the missile might have fallen in the woods during an exercise, for example to test an air defence system, is discarded.

Experts of the Institute of Technology believe that the missile crossed the eastern border of Poland. If this version is confirmed, it would mean that the Kh-55 was launched by a Russian carrier plane.

The incident took place late last year. The Polish military tracked the missile but lost sight of it near the town of Bydgoszcz. The settlement is more than 400 km away from the border with Ukraine.

The military failed to notify the prosecutor's office that the missile had crossed Polish airspace. The search halted in December last year due to bad weather conditions. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he only learned of the incident at the end of April.

The Kh-55 is a Russian strategic air-to-ground cruise missile that can hit targets at a distance of 2,500km. It has a speed of 720-830km/h (Mach 0.59-0.68). The starting weight of the missile is 1195 kg, and weight of the warhead - 410 kg.

Kh-55 is available in several modifications, including Kh-555. It has an improved control system and is equipped with a cluster warhead. It has a maximum launch range of 2,000km and the use of conformal fuel tanks increases the range to 2,500km.

Source: RMF