Expert names Russian air defense systems capable of shooting down Rusty Dagger missiles

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Russian air defense missile systems, including the S-300, S-400, S-350 Vityaz, Pantsir, Tor, Buk-M2, and Buk-M3, are capable of intercepting Norwegian-made American Rusty Dagger cruise missiles, retired Colonel Yury Knutov, a military expert and director of the Museum of the Air Defense Forces, told TASS. "These missiles can be countered in exactly the same way as the Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles - they are roughly weapons of the same class. They can be countered by the S-300, S-400, S-350 Vityaz, Pantsir, Buk-M2, Buk-M3, S-300V4, and Tor systems. So, there is a fairly wide range of air defense systems capable of engaging these cruise missiles. It is important that areas where these cruise missiles are deployed be equipped with the appropriate air defense systems," he said. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that four Rusty Dagger missiles had been destroyed. Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), noted in an interview with TASS that the Ukrainian armed forces employ these missiles as an alternative to the more expensive SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles. According to expert estimates, one Rusty Dagger may cost around $250,000.