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Ukraine’s VAMPIRE SAM Takes Down Russian Cruise Missile Over the Black Sea
On the night of January 24–25, Ukrainian forces delivered another embarrassing setback to Russia’s supposed military prowess.
In a first-of-its-kind engagement, a US-supplied VAMPIRE Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system mounted on a high-speed patrol boat intercepted and destroyed a Russian Kh-59 cruise missile over the Black Sea.
The successful shootdown, confirmed by Ukraine’s Navy and reported by open-source military analysts, is a milestone in Ukraine’s evolving air and maritime defense strategy.
And for Russia? Just another reminder that their “unstoppable” missiles are, well, quite stoppable.
The Kh-59 cruise missile, a relic from Russia’s Cold War playbook with some nominal modern upgrades, has been a triple diamond platinum frequent flyer in Moscow’s indiscriminate bombing campaigns.
Designed for precision strikes, this subsonic missile boasts a range of approximately 300 kilometers and can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Actually, one of its most dangerous attributes is its ability to fly at extremely low altitudes — around seven meters (23 feet) above water — making it notoriously difficult to detect and intercept.
