Russians work three shifts to build jet-powered missiles powered by a $16,000 Chinese engine from AliExpress

Russia's Banderol drone-cruise missile is being mass-produced at an accelerated pace. According to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, the country can churn out up to 80 of these missiles each month, which raises the threat level as the Banderol continues to expand. This short-range missile, with a range of about 500 kilometers, is launched from Crimea and targets Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa.

The Banderol missile is a fast, inexpensive, and short-range weapon, developed and manufactured by the Russian company Kronshtadt. It reaches a top speed of 620 to 650 kilometers per hour, cruising at 520 to 560 kilometers per hour, and carries a fragmentation-high-explosive warhead weighing 114.3 kilograms, including 49.5 kilograms of explosive material.

The missile's jet propulsion enables speeds that Ukrainian mobile fire teams cannot counter with standard ground-based machine guns. To counter the Banderol, Ukrainian forces need systems like the Gepard, capable of tracking fast-moving targets. The production of these missiles relies on Western components, with Russia working in three shifts to maintain the stated production rate.

Ukraine's War & Sanctions portal discovered more than 20 foreign-made components and approximately 20 microchips of foreign origin from 30 different companies in the missile's construction. A crucial part of the Banderol's propulsion system is a Chinese Swiwin SW800Pro jet engine, which costs about $16,000 and is available for purchase on AliExpress.