‘Raduga’ Anti-Radar Missile Used in Attack ? Georgia Says
A preliminary investigation has revealed that an SU-24 attack aircraft launched a Russian-made Raduga Kh-58 anti-radar tactically guided missile deep in Georgia?s territory on August 6, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
?The Georgian armed forces do not possess SU-24 aircraft, nor do they possess this kind of guided missile,? it said. Georgia actually uses SU-25s.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on August 7 that it was not an SU-24, but an SU-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft which had been involved in the incident.
The missile was equipped with a 140-kg TNT/RDX warhead, according to the Georgian authorities. The missile, whose NATO classification is AS11 Kilter, has a 4.80m length, a 0.38m diameter and a launch weight of 640kg.
The rocket, which did not explode, was fired on an area near to Shavshvebi and Tsiteliubani in the Shida Kartli region, which is near breakaway South Ossetia.
The area is about 80 kilometers from the Russian border and about 65 kilometers from Tbilisi.
The Foreign Ministry described the attack as ?undisguised aggression and a gross violation of sovereignty of the country.?
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