---
title: "From Training Target to Combat Missile: How Russia Is Turning the \"Dany-M\" into Cheap Weaponry for Wearing Down Air Defense"
description: "Russia has modified the \"Dany-M\" training target into the \"Dany-T\" cruise missile with a range of up to 500 km. Mass production is constrained by a shortage of MD-120 engines — the plant produces only about 20 units per year."
date: 2026-09-01T11:20:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/dan-t-russia-missile-from-target-to-combat-weapon
tags: [dan-t-missile, russia-ukraine-war, cruise-missile, air-defense, md-120-engine, loitering-munition]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# From Training Target to Combat Missile: How Russia Is Turning the "Dany-M" into Cheap Weaponry for Wearing Down Air Defense

![Dan-M ballistic missile against a blue sky: how Russia turns a training target into cheap weapon to deplete air defenses](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/01/dan-t-raketa-rossii-iz-misheni-v-boevoe-oruzhie/dan-t-raketa-rossii-iz-misheni-v-boevoe-oruzhie-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The "Dany-T" is a modification of the "Dany-M" training target, from which the parachute and Luneburg lens were removed
- The missile's range is up to 500 km when launched from an Su-35 and about 250 km from ground-based installations
- Production is limited by the MD-120 engine: the plant produces only ~20 units per year
- Plans to produce 10,000 missiles, voiced on social media, are considered unrealistic by the expert
- The "Dany-T" is part of a lineup that includes the "Kover" and the "Banderyol"

In August 2026, the arsenal of the Russian Armed Forces was expanded with new loitering munitions — the "Banderyol" and the "Dany-T," as stated by Major General Vadym Skybitsky, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. However, it was the "Dany-T" that attracted the most attention from experts: according to aviation specialist and Director of Development at a defense enterprise, Anatoly Khrapchinsky, it is a modification of the "Dany-M" simulation target missile, which Russia had previously used to train air defense crews. The transition from a training platform to a combat weapon has become part of Moscow's systemic strategy — the creation of a mass-produced, relatively cheap jet-propelled means of destruction capable of overloading Ukrainian air defense.

### From Target to Missile: What Was Removed and What Was Gained

The original "Dany-M" was reusable: the engine's service life was 15 hours, and after launch the missile would descend under a parachute, allowing it to be used again. To convert it into a combat variant, the "Dany-T" had two key elements removed from its design — the parachute system and the Luneburg lens, which had previously created a simulated aerial target for air defense radars. The result is a de facto cruise missile with a range of up to 500 kilometers, depending on the type of launch. Guidance is provided by the GLONASS satellite navigation system in combination with a CRP antenna.

### Range and Launch Methods

The characteristics of the "Dany-T" depend substantially on the launch platform. When dropped from a Su-35-type aircraft, the missile gains an initial speed of around 500–600 km/h, allowing it to cover up to 500 kilometers. When launched from ground-based installations, the range is reduced to approximately 250 kilometers. According to open-source data, the missile can also be launched from a cargo chassis, which expands its tactical application possibilities and allows it to be used in conditions where air support is unavailable or impractical.

### The Bottleneck — the MD-120 Engine

The main constraint on mass production of the "Dany-T" is the MD-120 engine, which is manufactured by the same plant that produces the AL-41 aviation engines for the Su-35, Su-57, and Su-34. According to Khrapchinsky, the plant's capacity allows for the production of only about 20 engines per year. Russia plans to increase output, but it is limited by the plant's technical constraints and, first and foremost, by the need to equip its own aviation with engines. The expert allows that, in the future, the engine could be replaced with an Iranian or Chinese civilian equivalent, which would relieve some of the production pressure.

### Contradictory Data

Social media and a number of media outlets, including TSN, have circulated information about Russia's plans to produce up to 10,000 "Dany-T" missiles for massive strikes on Ukrainian territory. However, Khrapchinsky directly calls these figures "very strange," given that the plant producing the MD-120 engine manufactures only around 20 units per year. Thus, there is a multiple discrepancy between the production volumes claimed in the public sphere and the actual industrial capabilities. So far, neither side has presented documentary evidence of plans to massively retool production lines for industrial-scale MD-120 output, so the question of the actual production rate of the "Dany-T" remains open.

### Part of a Broader Lineup

The development of the "Dany-T" is not a one-off project. According to experts, it was followed by the "Kover" and "Banderyol" variants — all of which emerged as a solution to a single task: to quickly adapt existing technologies and production capacities to the creation of cheap means of destruction. The logic of modifying the "Dany-M" into the "Dany-T" repeats the approach laid down during the development and refinement of the Kh-69 and Kh-59 missiles — the maximum use of the existing component base to reduce the cost of each unit of weaponry. In the conditions of years-long attrition of Ukraine's air defense, such a strategy allows Moscow to maintain pressure on the defense system at relatively modest costs per unit of munition.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Expert spoke about the characteristics of the "Dany-T": what is known about the cheap missile for wearing down air defense](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/desheva-raketa-500-km-visnazhennya-ppo-ukrayini-1788261316.html) - Основной источник: интервью А. Храпчинского с техническими характеристиками, данными о двигателе МД-120 и оценкой производственных мощностей.
- [The "Dany-T" cruise missile with an upgraded guidance head and ground launch from a cargo chassis](https://amalantra.ru/dan-t/) - Подтверждает наличие наземного варианта пуска и модернизированной системы наведения.
- [Putin is preparing 10,000 missiles to bomb Ukraine: what is known about the new "Dany-T" weapon](https://tsn.ua/ru/svit/putin-gotovit-10-tysyach-raket-dlya-bombardirovki-ukrainy-chto-izvestno-o-novom-oruzhii-dan-t-3158375.html) - Цифра 10 000 ракет не подтверждена производственными данными; эксперт Храпчинский называет её нереалистичной.
- [Tomahawk for strikes on Kyiv: how a training target turned into the "Dany-M" combat drone of the Russian Armed Forces](https://focus.ua/voennye-novosti/717806-dron-rf-rossiyane-zapuskayut-bpla-dan-m-s-zemli-i-vozduha-detali) - Подтверждает концепцию перехода от учебной мишени к боевому применению и запуск с земли и воздуха.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is the "Dany-T" and how is it related to the "Dany-M"?
**A:** The "Dany-T" is a combat modification of the "Dany-M" simulation target missile. To convert it into a weapon, the parachute system and the Luneburg lens were removed from the design, which allowed the platform to be used as a cruise missile with a range of up to 500 km.

### Q: What is the flight range of the "Dany-T"?
**A:** When launched from an Su-35 aircraft (initial speed of 500–600 km/h), the range is up to 500 km. When launched from ground-based installations, the range is reduced to approximately 250 km.

### Q: Why can't Russia produce the "Dany-T" in mass quantities?
**A:** The main constraint is the MD-120 engine, which is produced by the plant that also manufactures the AL-41 for combat aircraft. The plant's capacity is about 20 engines per year, which makes plans to produce tens of thousands of missiles unrealistic under current conditions.

### Q: Has the existence of the "Dany-T" been confirmed by the Ukrainian side?
**A:** Yes. In August 2026, Major General Vadym Skybitsky, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, stated that new loitering munitions, including the "Dany-T" and the "Banderyol," had appeared in Russia's arsenal.