Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional details from the Security Service of Ukraine, and satellite imagery showing damage to the plant, as well as new information about the facility’s role in Russian missile production.
Ukrainian forces struck the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in Russia’s Rostov Oblast overnight on Sept. 26, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
A fire broke out at the plant’s foundry, while equipment in five production buildings was damaged, according to the military.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later said its Alpha Special Operations Center carried out the strike jointly with the Ukrainian Navy. The attack involved Neptune cruise missiles as well as Ruta, Palianytsia, and Bars jet-powered drone-missiles.
According to the SBU, the strike damaged optical and foundry production facilities, an assembly section, an electroplating workshop, and a facility used to manufacture printed circuit boards.
The plant, located in the city of Azov, is part of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation and produces opto-mechanical and optoelectronic equipment, electronics for artillery, missile and anti-tank weapons, as well as radar homing systems for guided missiles. Ukraine’s military intelligence also lists the facility as part of Russia’s defense-industrial complex.
Internal documents obtained by the private intelligence firm Dallas Analytics indicate that the plant is involved in the production chains of at least seven Russian missile programs, including the Kh-101 strategic cruise missile and the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
The documents, dated between 2023 and 2025, include internal correspondence, state contract records, and production schedules. Dallas Analytics said they also link the plant to components for the R-37M long-range air-to-air missile, Kh-35U, Kh-59 and Kh-69 missiles, and the Kh-31P anti-radiation missile.
According to the analysis, the plant manufactures two critical assemblies for the Kh-101, including a navigation lidar and a flight-automation block. Internal correspondence also indicates that Russia’s Aerospace Forces sought to increase production from 2026 of components used in the R-37M missile.
The General Staff said the plant produces equipment used by the Russian military and described the strike as an effort to reduce Russia’s military-industrial capabilities.
The SBU separately described the facility as one of the key optoelectronic production sites belonging to the Tactical Missiles Corporation, producing radar and infrared homing systems for guided missiles, thermal imaging equipment, and electronic systems used in precision artillery.
The strike on the Azov plant followed a separate Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai overnight. Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said the refinery, located about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the drone launch area, was targeted by the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces, the 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade, known as “Madyar’s Birds,” and other Ukrainian units.
The SBU also said it participated in the attack on the Ilsky refinery and reported two fires on the facility’s grounds, one near the tank farm and another near a primary oil-processing unit.
Ukrainian defense company Fire Point said the refinery was hit by FP-1 drones and subsequently halted operations. According to the company, three primary oil-processing units and a tank farm were damaged in the strike.