Russia has begun mass production of its cheap but powerful Banderol cruise missile, with the 2026-model variant modernised and significantly different from the 2025 version, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said.

The S8000 Banderol, developed by sanctioned defence contractor Kronstadt, reportedly carries a 150 kg warhead, flies 350-450 km and reaches speeds of 550-600 km/h.

The missile, which began development in 2021, is the latest addition to the Russian army as both sides are engaged in a drones arms race seeking to improve their cost-to-kill ratio by producing ever more cheap drones that have taken over the battlefield.

Russia’s workhorse Geran-2 drone, based on the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munition, have also had an upgrade to the Geran-4 and Geran-5, which are jet propelled and so fast they can evade Ukraine’s new class of interceptor drone. It is also faster and much more accurate Kh-101 cruise missiles, said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s commissioner for sanctions policy Bloomberg reports.

“This is a very dangerous gizmo,” Vlasiuk told journalists as he showed off part of a Banderol fired last year. “The majority of strikes on the port infrastructure in Odesa are with Banderols.” Vlasiuk said 80% of the strikes on the Greater Odesa port are made using this missile.

 

The speed of the Banderol is also the main problem for Ukrainian air defence: interceptor drones cannot catch the missile, and Ukraine lacks sufficient numbers of dedicated anti-aircraft missiles to bring it down instead. The Banderol was originally launched only from Orion medium-altitude drones and Mi-28 helicopters; it is now also being fired from ground-based launchers stationed in occupied Crimea.

The missile is also cheap, costing around $150,000-$300,000 each and relies on repurposed Chinese civilian mini jet engines. Ukraine estimates Russia is producing hundreds of Banderols per year, but production could be slowed if sanctions are tightened.

GUR has previously said 2025-built Banderol samples contained components sourced from the US, China, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea and Australia – a supply chain that continues into the 2026-model missile and points to persistent gaps in sanctions enforcement even as Moscow scales up output.