Russia Claims First Intercept of U.S. Rusty Dagger Cruise Missiles

Interfax and Vesti quoted the ministry’s daily briefing on Tuesday as saying Russian air defenses also destroyed six guided aerial bombs and 802 airplane-type drones in the same period. The statement did not say where the cruise missiles were intercepted.

Ukraine has not commented, and the claim could not be independently verified.

Defence Blog later reported that the wording was removed from the ministry’s official accounts without explanation. A later check of the ministry’s main Telegram channel found no remaining post naming the missile.

A Low-Cost Missile Built for Ukraine

The AGM-188A Rusty Dagger is Zone 5 Technologies’ design under the U.S. Air Force’s Extended Range Attack Munition program, known as ERAM. The program was launched in 2024 to give Ukraine a cheap, air-launched standoff weapon that could be produced in large numbers. CoAspire is building a second ERAM variant, the Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile.

Official U.S. documents describe ERAM as a 500-pound-class, subsonic, turbojet-powered munition with GPS and inertial guidance and a range of about 250 nautical miles, or roughly 460 kilometers. Ukraine’s F-16 fighters are expected to be the main launch platform.

On Aug. 28, 2025, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of up to 3,350 ERAM missiles and matching navigation units at an estimated cost of $825 million. Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and U.S. Foreign Military Financing were to fund the package, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire were named as the principal contractors.

The first production batch of 840 missiles was scheduled for delivery in October 2026. Whether that shipment, or earlier test rounds, has already reached Ukraine has not been officially confirmed.

The munition is intended to give Kyiv a less expensive alternative to weapons such as the Storm Shadow cruise missiles already in Ukrainian service, and to complement long-range drone strikes on Russian targets. Ukraine has also moved to tie its defense industry more closely to European production.

Earlier Reports Remain Unconfirmed

Russian military channels first claimed in June that Ukraine had used Rusty Dagger missiles in a strike on a semiconductor plant in Voronezh. Later in the summer, including in August, Russian sources said debris linked to the weapon had been recovered. Those accounts have not been independently confirmed.

If accurate, Tuesday’s briefing would be the first official Russian acknowledgment that the missiles are being fired in the war. The subsequent removal of the wording, as reported by Defence Blog, leaves open whether the statement was posted in error or withdrawn for another reason.