The S8000 "Banderol" lightweight low cost cruise missile is being constantly improved and deployed i

The S8000 "Banderol" lightweight low cost cruise missile is being constantly improved and deployed in diverse air launch platforms to expand its operational use and increase the fire power.

The first picture shows the "Banderol" ("Dan-T") winged cruise missile mounted under a Mi-28NM attack helicopter. This launch platform is designed for striking 100-200km positions such as artillery, communications, logistics... behind the combat zones.

The second picture shows the "Banderol" next to the Yak-130M light weight combat aircraft.

Footage (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) show the combat use of "Banderol" S8000 low cost cruise missiles launched from the "Orion" UAV against UFU positions. The RFD900x telemetry link is a two-way data channel. If a separate reconnaissance drone such as Supercam S350 or the Orion near the combat zones or the Gerbera for deep strikes Identified and tracked a target, that data could be relayed to the ground station and uplinked as mid-course corrections to the Banderol's flight computer via the same RF link. The missile isn't "seeing" the target — it's being told where to go by an external sensor.

The S8000 Banderol gives Russia's Aerospace Forces a 500 km stand-off strike option with a 60% larger exclusive power (in terms TNT) than Geran-4 loitering munitions, and unlike Geraniums which require fixed ground launchers that makes them vulnerable to air strikes, S8000 can be delivered by highly mobile airborne platforms that are never in one place for long.

Air-launched from an Orion UAV loitering at 5,000–7,000 m altitude, the missile extends effective range beyond what a ground launcher could achieve, with no runway dependency, no takeoff signature, and no pilot risk for the Orion UAV. Launching S8000 from aerial platforms gives Ukrainian air defenses shorter possible warning window, by comparison to its low cost ground launched equivalent "Geran-5" cruise missile.

It's estimated that the missile's low unit cost (~$42,500–$127,500) lets Russia sustain a continuous volume of launches to support its asymmetric attritional doctrine.

t.me/RussianBaZa