How Much Does an Iskander-1000 Missile Cost?

Published on August 29, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 15 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

The Iskander-1000 name now refers to Russia’s upgraded 9M723-2 ballistic missile, which entered documented combat use in 2026. Procurement records reported by Militarnyi point to a 2025 order valued at 221 million rubles per missile, translated in that reporting to about $2.5 million per unit in its Russian missile procurement analysis.

That figure applies to the missile itself. It does not represent a complete Bora-M firing unit with launch vehicles, command equipment, reload support, storage, crews, or other infrastructure. No newer public 2026 contract price for the 9M723-2 was found after Ukraine identified its first known combat use.

The useful pricing unit is one missile under a dated procurement order. Variant, contract year, warhead configuration, and the ruble-to-dollar conversion used by the publisher can change the figure shown beside it.

How Much Does an Iskander-1000 Missile Cost?

The strongest public Iskander-1000 estimate is about 221 million rubles, reported as roughly $2.5 million (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 40 years of full-time work, before taxes) per missile, based on a small 2025 9M723-2 order.

Important numbers

• Other 2024-2025 9M723 Iskander-M variants were reported at 189 million to 238 million rubles, or roughly $2.4 million to $3 million, in an October 2025 procurement review.
• The disclosed 9M723-2 order covered 18 missiles scheduled for 2025 production, according to the October procurement assessment.
• Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence identified the 9M723-2 as the updated missile informally called Iskander-1000 on August 27, 2026, in its Iskander production disclosure.

What you’re buying

The 9M723-2 is an updated member of Russia’s Iskander ballistic-missile family rather than an unrelated weapon bearing the Iskander name. Ukrainian intelligence associates it with the Bora-M system and says the newer missile uses a larger motor and a correspondingly enlarged launcher, with much of the remaining architecture related to the earlier 9M723-1. A missile round is only one part of that system.

The manufacturer and industrial chain also matter. The Kolomna-based Machine Building Design Bureau is tied to Iskander missile production, and the U.S. Treasury identifies the bureau as a company that creates missile systems in its Russian defense-industry sanctions record. Launcher vehicles, command assets, depot activity, reload equipment, transport, and personnel sit outside the missile-only figure.

Three procurement cases

Lower-price variant case. Public procurement reporting places some 9M723-1F3 missiles at 189 million rubles per unit. A separate 9M723-1F2 configuration was reported at 192 million rubles. These are related Iskander-M missiles rather than 9M723-2 rounds, so their figures work as family context, not substitute prices for Iskander-1000.

9M723-2 case. The extended-range missile order carried a reported value of 221 million rubles per unit, or about $2.5 million (about 40 years of full-time work at $30 per hour) using the publisher’s conversion. Contemporary reporting repeated that figure after the missile’s 2026 combat identification in an August 2026 procurement recap.

Higher-price variant case. Another Iskander-M configuration reached 238 million rubles per missile. Using the documented family figures, the 9M723-2 sits 32 million rubles above the 189 million ruble low and 17 million rubles below the 238 million ruble high. Those inputs appear together in the December 2025 order summary.

What the 9M723-2 order says

The strongest price evidence comes from procurement documents obtained and analyzed before the missile’s public combat identification. The records described a small 18-unit batch carrying the unusual 9M723-2 designation, with production scheduled for 2025. Militarnyi reported each missile at 221 million rubles, or approximately $2.5 million (about 40 years of full-time work at $30 per hour) using the dollar conversion attached to its June 2026 Iskander report.

Cost measure	What it covers	How to read it
9M723-2 unit value	One missile under the reported 2025 production order	Strongest public Iskander-1000 missile-only benchmark
Other 9M723 unit values	Different Iskander-M variants and warhead configurations	Useful family comparison, not an Iskander-1000 quote
Complete missile system	Missiles plus launch, command, reload, storage, and support assets	No verified public package figure for Bora-M was found

A dollar value should remain secondary to the ruble figure because the original reported procurement amount is ruble-denominated. Currency conversion changes with the exchange rate and conversion date, even when the contract amount itself stays fixed.

What the missile-only figure leaves out

A unit price for the 9M723-2 does not capture the money required to field the weapon as part of a functioning missile formation. The 2026 intelligence description says the enlarged motor required a larger launcher, which means the missile cannot be treated as a complete firing system by itself.

Separate spending can sit in launch vehicles, command and control equipment, transport and reload vehicles, storage facilities, maintenance activity, training, communications equipment, test gear, depot work, and replacement stocks. Public sources reviewed for this article do not provide a reliable Bora-M package price for those items, so assigning a dollar amount to them would create unsupported precision.

The distinction matters when comparing Iskander-1000 with programs such as Oreshnik missile spending, where missile value and system-level infrastructure also represent different accounting boundaries. The missile price answers what one round was reportedly valued at in procurement documents. It does not answer what a new military unit would spend to gain an operational launch capability.

The launcher is separate. Current technical reporting confirms the 9M723-2 uses an enlarged launcher arrangement in a 2026 missile identification report.

Worked total

The disclosed production batch provides a cleaner calculation than an invented component model. Army Recognition reported that the first identified order covered 18 9M723-2 missiles at 221 million rubles each, producing a missile-only contract value of 3.978 billion rubles in its August 2026 cost analysis.

• Reported unit value, 221 million rubles
• Reported quantity, 18 missiles
• 18 multiplied by 221 million rubles
• Missile-only batch total, 3.978 billion rubles

Using the cited publication’s approximate $2.5 million unit conversion would place 18 missiles near $45 million, but that is a converted comparison rather than the original contract denomination. The calculation also excludes launchers, reload vehicles, command equipment, storage, personnel, and support. Similar accounting boundaries matter when comparing the result with Tomahawk missile procurement, where a missile-only round and a larger acquisition package can produce very different per-unit figures.

The 9M723 versions

Iskander procurement records show that the family does not carry one universal missile price. Warhead configuration and production year appear beside different values for the 9M723-1 variants, and the 9M723-2 adds the enlarged propulsion arrangement associated with the newer system. An October 2025 breakdown reported one 9M723-1F3 batch between 189 million and 238 million rubles across different years and a 9M723-1K5 configuration at 238 million rubles in its Iskander variant pricing report.

This makes variant designation a necessary part of any future Iskander-1000 price claim. A figure attached to 9M723-1F1, 9M723-1F2, 9M723-1F3, or 9M723-1K5 should not be transferred automatically to 9M723-2. The same discipline applies when comparing newer low-priced systems such as Blackbeard missile procurement. Missile class, included hardware, production volume, contract year, and package scope all affect the accounting boundary.

Where price evidence comes from

The price trail has two stages. Procurement-document reporting from 2025 identified the 9M723-2 designation, quantity, and reported unit value before public evidence had firmly tied that designation to a combat-used missile. The second stage arrived in August 2026, when Ukrainian intelligence identified debris and linked 9M723-2 to the updated Iskander missile associated with the Bora-M system. That later identification makes the earlier procurement record much more useful for pricing.

The evidence still has limits. The underlying Russian procurement documents are being reported through outside publications, and the public record does not show a fresh 2026 contract replacing the 2025 unit value. Independent August coverage says the newer missile has a larger motor and launcher and documents its first known operational use in a Business Insider report. That supports the identity of the weapon. It does not create a new purchase price.

When the $2.5 million estimate is useful

The $2.5 million figure works as a readable U.S. dollar reference for the reported 9M723-2 order, but the underlying 221 million ruble figure is the stronger pricing anchor. Use it when comparing missile rounds under a similar procurement boundary. Do not use it as the price of a complete Bora-M battery or as a permanent dollar conversion. A future contract could also change the unit amount.

Readers comparing published figures should check the designation, contract year, currency, quantity, and included hardware. The newest technical identification does not replace the older procurement record. It connects that record to the missile now documented in service.

Makes sense if

• You need a public missile-only benchmark tied to the 9M723-2 designation.
• You retain 221 million rubles as the original reported contract amount.
• You treat roughly $2.5 million as a dated conversion from the cited reporting.
• You separate the missile from launcher and support assets.

Doesn’t make sense if

• You need a confirmed 2026 Russian invoice.
• You are pricing an entire Bora-M firing unit.
• You are using another Iskander variant and assuming identical procurement terms.
• You need launcher, depot, personnel, and support spending included.

What we verified

• Checked the August 2026 technical identification connecting 9M723-2 with the updated Iskander-1000 designation.
• Confirmed the August 27 campaign record describing 9M723-2 as an upgraded Iskander-M missile associated with Bora-M.
• Cross-referenced the Russian defense supply chain with the August EU sanctions action.

Article Highlights

• The strongest public 9M723-2 figure is 221 million rubles per missile.
• That was reported as about $2.5 million using the publication’s dollar conversion.
• The first identified order covered 18 missiles scheduled for 2025 production.
• Related Iskander-M variants were reported between 189 million and 238 million rubles.
• A complete Bora-M firing unit would include spending beyond the missile price.
• No newer public 2026 contract price was verified after the missile’s combat identification.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does an Iskander-1000 missile cost?

The strongest public procurement evidence points to about 221 million rubles, reported as approximately $2.5 million per 9M723-2 missile. That is a missile-only estimate based on a reported 2025 order.

Is the Iskander-1000 a different missile from Iskander-M?

It is an updated 9M723-family ballistic missile identified as 9M723-2 and informally called Iskander-1000. Ukrainian intelligence associates it with the Bora-M system and describes a larger propulsion and launcher arrangement.

Does $2.5 million include the launcher?

No. The reported figure applies to one missile. A firing unit requires separate launch, command, reload, storage, maintenance, and personnel resources.

Why do other Iskander prices differ?

Procurement documents list several 9M723 variants with different warheads, production years, quantities, and unit values. Those figures should remain attached to their individual missile designations.