A new weapon, an air-to-surface missile, or Izdeliye 305, for Russian Mi-28 Night Hunter attack helicopters, has been spotted in Ukraine.
Imagery has emerged on social media recently that shows Izdeliye 305 missile, better known as LMUR, under the right wing of the Russian Mi-28NM helicopter.
For the first time, the clear video shows LMUR air-to-ground missile on a helicopter flying over Ukraine.
The LMUR (Lyogkaya Mnogotselevaya Upravlayemaya Raketa) is considered Russian most advanced anti-armor missile. It is a helicopter-launched air-to-surface missile or light multipurpose guided missile with a thermal-imaging seeker.
The new missile is heavier than other Russian helicopter-launched ATGMs, at 105 kg. For comparison, the 9M120-1 Ataka-1 weighs 48.5 kg together with its launch tube, and the 9M127-1 Vikhr-1 weighs 59 kg with its launch tube.
The missile has a canard aerodynamic configuration with four cruciform split fins at the front. Next is the warhead compartment and then the solid-fuel rocket engine.
According to Oryx, the LMUR can be launched from the APU-305 single-rail launcher or the two-round APU-L launcher from the FSB’s Mi-8MNP-2s and the Russian Air Force’s Mi-28 and Ka-52 attack helicopters. A ground-based launcher codenamed Baikal was once also envisaged.
The missile has been actively used by Russian troops to destroy Ukrainian targets since last summer.
Another possible Izdelie 305 LMUR missile strike on a Ukrainian warehouse in Kharkiv Oblast. https://t.co/snrrFjTaKH pic.twitter.com/E4q3tyA87F
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 5, 2022
