Russia’s Oreshnik missile uses Soviet-era gyroscopes that cause it to miss targets by dozens of kilometers, leaked correspondence shows

Russia’s Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) has an unfixable flaw in its guidance system that causes it to miss targets by dozens of kilometers, according to internal correspondence between Russian defense enterprises published by the private intelligence firm Dallas Analytics.

The key problem is linked to the GU-503 (ГУ-503) gyroscope unit, a Soviet-era aviation instrument adapted for the Oreshnik. The unit tracks the missile’s position in flight, but a deviation of even half a degree can lead a missile flying at hypersonic speed to miss its target by dozens of kilometers. According to a letter dated March 18, 2025, the company JSC MZP (АО «МЗП») told its customer that mass production of the GU-503 had stopped, that the technological equipment used to calibrate and test it was developed in the early 1970s, that much of the equipment had failed, and that there was no substitute to replace it with.

That means that even if components are available, factories cannot test the gyroscope’s accuracy before final assembly. Dallas Analytics writes that pressure from Putin to meet tight deadlines forced manufacturers to abandon standard quality control procedures entirely. A forensic examination of debris from Oreshnik missiles recovered in Ukraine found markings on GU-503 units indicating they had been produced in 2025. Dallas Analytics says that this proves a planned modern replacement for the gyroscope was never implemented.

Dallas Analytics says the production problems explain the trajectory of Putin’s public statements. After an Oreshnik strike hit a garage cooperative in Bila Tserkva in May 2026, the Russian president was forced to recast the obvious failure as having been part of the plan all along. At a news conference during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum earlier this month, Putin said the strike on a civilian site was intentional — carried out “for the convenience of observing the accuracy” of the warheads. Putin’s commentary effectively acknowledged that the missile was still in testing, even though he had previously made repeated claims that serial production had begun.

Earlier reports and assessments by open source intelligence (OSINT) analysts indicated the real target of the attack on Bila Tserkva was supposed to be the city’s cargo airfield.