The theatre of news begins with confirmation from official briefings
During a daily update, officials reported that a Grom-2 operational tactical missile from Yuzhmash was intercepted in the course of ongoing operations. The briefing also noted the downing of a Mi-8 helicopter belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force in the Temirovka area of the Zaporozhye region by air defense forces. These statements mark the first confirmed interception of a Grom-2 missile by Russian air defenses since the onset of the special operation.
In the same briefing, authorities stated that a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down and that a Grom-2 missile was intercepted during the day. The Grom-2 is linked to Yuzhmash, a plant whose facilities have a long history in rocket development and production. The latest reference to the Grom-2 in official releases appeared on September 30, when Russian forces targeted the Yuzhmash facilities in Dnepropetrovsk, where these missiles are manufactured.
What is Yuzhmash?
The Southern Machine-Building Plant in Dnepropetrovsk was founded in 1944 as the city was liberated by Soviet forces. Its early plans leaned toward automobile manufacturing, and at times the plant supported Belarusian MAZ trolleybuses and tractors from MTZ and YuMZ. Over decades, Yuzhmash became widely recognized as a major rocket enterprise in the Soviet era, producing the USSR’s early ballistic missiles and strategic systems. In the 1950s and 60s the plant contributed to missiles like the R-12 Sandal, followed by the R-14 and the R-23 Molodets family, among others.
After the Soviet collapse, Yuzhmash shifted to space and defense collaborations, supplying engines for European Vega launch vehicles and Zenit launch vehicles used in the Sea Launch program. It also built the Russian Voevoda, known in the West as Satan, a strategic missile. From 2014 onward, the plant faced reduced orders and a shrinking workforce, with a decline in production activity affecting employment levels from around ten thousand to roughly five thousand workers by 2020.
What is “Grom-2”
The Grom-2 system is a new generation mobile surface-to-surface missile launcher developed by Yuzhmash. Trials for the system were reported in 2019, but the start of ongoing hostilities led to delays. The Grom-2 uses a five-axle all-terrain vehicle to carry a mobile launcher for short- to medium-range missiles. Its lineage traces back to the earlier Grom complex, which Ukrainian authorities describe as capable of striking targets at distances of up to 500 kilometers.
Yuzhmash is also known for Tochka-U missiles, a Ukrainian development rooted in the Soviet Tochka program dating back to 1984. The Tochka-U is a single-stage, solid-fuel guided missile with a stated range of 15 to 120 kilometers and a claimed accuracy around 50 meters. By 2021, Ukraine reportedly possessed about ninety launchers and up to seven hundred Tochka-U missiles in stockpiles.
On September 30, 2022, Russian authorities stated that strikes targeted Dnepropetrovsk and destroyed workshops at the Southern Machine-Building Plant where Grom-2 and Tochka-U missiles were assembled. The Russian claims focused on facilities within the production association’s grounds. Later, statements from Ukrainian officials about missile attacks on Yuzhmash followed, with an official indicating a fire occurred at the rocket and space enterprise after a Russian strike. These developments illustrate the ongoing tension surrounding the plant and its weapons programs.