Ukraine Deploys NATO-Backed Rusty Dagger Missiles in Deep Russia
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- AGM-188A Rusty Dagger demonstrated extreme survivability in Ukrainian strikes, with all missiles reaching targets and evading Russian air defenses, including at the Voronezh Semiconductor Plant over 200 miles from Ukraine.
- Zone 5 Technologies, recently acquired by Kongsberg, built the Rusty Dagger’s guidance system, identified via a CAGE code on debris recovered by Russian forces after the June 6 attack.
- Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters carried out the long-range strikes, countering Russian claims of having destroyed Ukraine’s fixed-wing aviation capabilities.
- Rusty Dagger has a range of up to 500 nautical miles (926 km) in medium-altitude flight, enabling Ukrainian aircraft over Kyiv to threaten central Moscow and southern Crimea.
- U.S. Air Force F-16s at Eglin Test and Training Range have already conducted captive-carry and live-fire tests with the Rusty Dagger, ahead of planned integration with Ukraine’s future F-16 fleet.
- Rusty Dagger outperforms competitors in the U.S. Air Force’s ERAM and FAMM programs, with the source noting rival missiles like Anduril’s Barracuda AGM-189 are far behind in development.
Why it matters: Ukraine now possesses a NATO-enabled, long-range precision strike capability that can cripple high-value Russian military production facilities beyond occupied territories, shifting the balance of aerial warfare and increasing pressure on Russia’s air defense infrastructure without requiring new fighter fleets or satellite support.
