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Russia’s Rostec Elevates Khrizantema-M Missile to Supersonic Speed with Extended Combat Range.
Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec announced that its upgraded Khrizantema-M now combines extended engagement range with supersonic flight, and is being deployed from both ground systems and combat helicopters. The update reflects Moscow’s effort to adapt lessons from the war in Ukraine into more flexible stand-off strike options for armored and aerial threats.
On 19 February 2026, the Russian state corporation Rostec announced that its updated Khrizantema-M guided missile now combines an extended engagement range with supersonic flight, reinforcing the role of this weapon in the war in Ukraine and in future export offers. According to information provided to the news agency TASS by a representative of the High-Precision Systems holding company, the new version is employed not only from ground-based anti-tank systems but also from combat helicopters and is already being used in air-defence missions. The announcement, which follows the first public presentation of the modernised missile at the Army-2023 forum, signals a deliberate effort by Russia to turn front-line experience into enhanced stand-off strike options against armoured and aerial targets.
The image below, taken at the World Defense Show, features the 9M123M and 9M123MF missiles displayed as part of Russia’s Rostec unveiling of an upgraded Khrizantema-M system, which incorporates extended range and supersonic speed to expand its ground- and helicopter-launched strike capabilities (Picture Source: Vitaly Kuzmin / Rosoboronexport / Army Recognition Group)
The core of the new development lies in two parameters that Russian officials chose to highlight: range and speed. The representative of High-Precision Systems explained that the upgraded Khrizantema-M allows the launch platform’s crew to remain outside the “kill zone” of enemy air defences thanks to a greater firing distance, while the missile itself now reaches supersonic velocity. At the same time, Rostec stresses that this version is used from both land anti-tank complexes and helicopters and that it is being tasked not only with engaging armour, but also with intercepting low-flying aerial threats. In combination with the long-range Izdeliye-305 (LMUR) missile, which offers a range in excess of 25 km for attack helicopters, the upgraded Khrizantema-M is presented as part of a layered armament suite that enables launches from beyond the typical engagement envelope of man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS).
The updated round belongs to the 9M123 family of missiles that underpin the Khrizantema complex. Russian sources describe the baseline 9M123 as a supersonic anti-tank guided missile with an average speed of about 400 m/s (roughly Mach 1.2), a maximum range of 6 km and a dual guidance system combining millimetre-wave radar beam-riding and laser beam-riding modes. Later variants such as the 9M123M/VM, marketed for both ground vehicles and helicopters, increase the effective range to around 10 km while retaining supersonic flight and a tandem HEAT or high-explosive warhead capable of penetrating up to 1,100 mm of armour behind explosive reactive armour. Rostec’s latest statement does not provide numerical figures, but by explicitly linking the modernisation to both range and speed it suggests an optimisation of the propulsion and flight profile to preserve supersonic performance over the extended 10 km envelope that has been associated in Russian reports with the helicopter-borne Khrizantema-VM.
The missile’s flexibility is closely tied to the diversity of its launch platforms. On land, the Khrizantema-M is fired primarily from the 9P157-series Khrizantema-S tank destroyer, a dedicated launcher based on the BMP-3 tracked infantry fighting vehicle chassis. This vehicle typically carries up to 15 ready-to-fire missiles in a two-round pop-up launcher, combining high mobility, amphibious capability and an all-weather fire-control system built around a mast-mounted radar and an optical sighting unit. In the air, Russian industry has integrated the extended-range 9M123M/VM missiles on the Mi-28NM “Night Hunter” and the Ka-52M/Ka-52 “Alligator” attack helicopters, giving these platforms an anti-tank option that outranges legacy Ataka and Shturm missiles and complements the heavy Izdeliye-305. During World Defense Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia, the team from Army Recognition was able to observe the 9M123M missile presented as part of Russia’s export portfolio, confirming that Moscow intends to market the upgraded Khrizantema alongside its attack helicopter packages and BMP-3-based vehicles for foreign customers.
The emphasis on “supersonic speed” in the latest announcement deserves particular attention, because the Khrizantema family has already been described in Russian sources as supersonic for years. The original 9M123 is widely credited with a speed of around 400 m/s, while some technical references and simulation-oriented data sets mention peak velocities up to 550 m/s for certain variants. What appears to be new is not the mere fact of exceeding Mach 1, but the combination of maintaining supersonic velocity over a longer trajectory and doing so from a greater stand-off distance for the launch platform. At 400 m/s, a 6 km shot takes roughly 15 seconds of flight time; a 10 km engagement would extend that to around 25 seconds, but still keeps the missile in a regime where the target has relatively limited time to react compared with slower, subsonic anti-tank missiles in the 200–300 m/s class. This higher approach speed shortens the window for manoeuvre or obscuration by the target tank, increases the probability of hit against moving vehicles and, in the air-defence role, makes it more feasible to engage slow helicopters and larger unmanned aerial vehicles before they leave the engagement sector.
The Khrizantema system has been in Russian service since the mid-2000s and has seen a gradual but steady diffusion. The 9P157/9P157-2 vehicles entered service around 2005, with a total fleet of several dozen vehicles fielded by Russian units and a limited number exported to countries such as Azerbaijan and Libya. Libyan Khrizantema-S vehicles are reported to have been used during the Libyan civil war, although details on their effectiveness remain sparse. More recently, imagery and Russian and Ukrainian reporting indicate that Khrizantema-S vehicles have been deployed in the war in Ukraine, where Russia has sought specialised anti-tank systems to counter Western-supplied main battle tanks and fortified positions. The latest TASS-based reports explicitly state that the modernised Khrizantema-M is being used in the “special military operation” theatre, suggesting that at least some upgraded rounds have already been fielded and are undergoing combat validation.
At the tactical level, the combination of extended range, dual-mode guidance and supersonic flight changes how Khrizantema-equipped units can be employed. For ground forces, the 9P157-series launcher can remain concealed behind terrain or urban cover while using its radar to detect and track targets, firing missiles from up to 10 km away in all-weather conditions and through smoke or dust. Because the system can guide missiles via both radar and laser channels, crews have the option of engaging two targets in quick succession, or of switching guidance modes in response to jamming or obscurants. In its air-defence role, the same radar and guidance architecture enables engagement of slow, low-flying helicopters and larger drones, effectively turning each Khrizantema-S vehicle into an improvised very-short-range air-defence asset at a time when Russian forces are under constant threat from Ukrainian reconnaissance and loitering munitions. In the helicopter role, the upgraded missile allows crews of Mi-28NM and Ka-52M/Ka-52 to execute “stand-off tank hunting” tactics, firing from behind terrain or friendly lines without exposing themselves to the 5–6 km engagement range typical of modern MANPADS.
The modernisation of Khrizantema-M fits into a broader Russian effort to counter Western armour and precision-guided weapons with longer-range, multi-role guided munitions. The missile’s ability to penetrate over a metre of armour behind explosive reactive armour is explicitly intended to defeat tanks such as Leopard 2, M1A1/A2 Abrams or Challenger 2 when they are engaged from favourable aspects. By extending the engagement envelope to around 10 km for both ground vehicles and helicopters, the updated system pushes Russian anti-tank fires further into the depth of the battlefield, complicating the planning of armoured thrusts and forcing opposing forces to consider the threat of long-range, supersonic ATGMs launched from concealed positions or from rotorcraft orbiting outside MANPADS range. At the same time, the inclusion of an air-defence role reflects an adaptation to the drone-saturated environment of the Ukraine war, where every platform capable of engaging slow aerial targets is being reassessed as part of a wider counter-UAV architecture.
There is also a clear geo-economic dimension to this evolution. Russia has consistently showcased the Khrizantema family at domestic exhibitions such as Army-2023 and at foreign events, now including World Defense Show 2026, as part of an export narrative focused on “combat-proven” systems honed in Ukraine. Countries that already operate BMP-3-based platforms or Russian attack helicopters, among them operators in the Middle East, North Africa and the South Caucasus, represent a natural market for an upgraded missile that promises extended range, high armour penetration and the ability to act as a limited air-defence asset. In that sense, the announcement that the updated Khrizantema-M is both supersonic and multi-platform is aimed as much at potential export clients as at domestic audiences, signalling that despite sanctions and battlefield attrition, Russian industry is still investing in incremental improvements to established weapon families.
While many of the exact specifications of the newly upgraded Khrizantema-M remain undisclosed, the message from Moscow is clear: Russia is seeking to turn a well-known supersonic anti-tank system into a longer-ranged, more flexible missile that can be launched from ground vehicles and helicopters to strike both armoured and aerial targets from beyond the reach of typical short-range air defences. The presence of the 9M123M missile on display at World Defense Show 2026, combined with references to its use in Ukraine and its integration alongside the Izdeliye-305 on advanced attack helicopters, suggests that this weapon will occupy a central place in Russia’s future anti-armour and very-short-range air-defence posture, with implications that will be closely monitored by both regional actors and NATO planners.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.