Explosion rocks central Luhansk

12 May, 2023 Aftermath of the explosion of an office building in Luhansk, May 12, 2023. An explosion took place in the center of occupied Luhansk, previously, as a result of a hit by an unknown type of weapon. According to Militarnyi, an unknown missile hit an office building on Tsimlianska Street, 11.

The building is located in the center of Luhansk, which is 90-100 kilometers from the battle line. Eyewitnesses report three consecutive explosions preceded by the specific sound of an object flying on the air. Local residents found the wreckage of an ADM-160B MALD designed to distract enemy air defense systems, near the site of the explosion. The transfer of these missiles to Ukraine's service was not previously reported.

Currently, the type of missiles used to strike is not reliably known. It can be assumed that the strike was delivered by the recently announced British-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles. This assumption explains the use of decoy cruise missiles to bypass enemy air defense systems.

Debris of an ADM-160B MALD decoy missile near the site of the explosion, Luhansk, May 12, 2023.

ADM-160B is an air-launched decoy cruise missile developed in 2003 by the US Raytheon Corporation.

The approximate cost of the missile is £322,000 at 2015 prices. The missile has folded wings to allow more compact carriage. On launch, the wings unfold and a turbojet propels the missile on a pre-determined course, which is composed of up to 100 different waypoints.

It uses GPS-aided navigation system. Although, The mission profile is preprogrammed, but can be redefined by the pilot of the launching aircraft until immediately before launch.

ADM-160B MALD missile. Photo from open sources.

The 115-kilogram missile is capable of covering a distance of 920 kilometers along a pre-programmed route at a subsonic cruising speed of Mach 0.91.

The ADM-160B is powered by a Hamilton Sundstrand TJ-150 aircraft turbojet engine without warhead.