Russian strategic cruise missile X-55 with a range of 2500 km crashes in Poland
Last month, an unidentified missile was discovered in a forest in Poland near the city of Bydgoszcz. Experts from the Polish Air Force Institute of Technology found that it was a Russian X-55 missile (AS-15 Kent according to NATO codification).
The missile was found in the forest by a passerby. The Polish army does not use the X-55. In this regard, the version that the missile could have fallen in the forest during an exercise, for example, to test an air defense system, is no longer possible.
Experts at the Institute of Technology believe that the missile crossed the eastern border of Poland. If this version is confirmed, it would mean that the X-55 was launched by a Russian carrier aircraft.
The incident occurred at the end of last year. The Polish military tracked the missile but lost sight of it near the town of Bydgoszcz. The town is located more than 400 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
The military did not inform the prosecutor that a missile had crossed Polish airspace. The search was suspended last December due to bad weather conditions. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he learned about the incident only in late April.
The X-55 is a Russian strategic air-to-surface cruise missile that can hit targets at a distance of 2,500 km. It reaches speeds of 720-830 km/h (Mach 0.59-0.68). The missile has a launch weight of 1195 kg and a warhead weight of 410 kg.
The X-55 is available in several modifications, including the X-555. It has an improved control system and is equipped with a cluster warhead. The maximum launch range is 2000 km, and the use of conformal fuel tanks increases the radius to 2500 km.
