Manufacturers of the Russian BUK missile have confirmed that Russia was not responsible for shooting down Malaysian airlines flight MH17, as has been suggested recently by western governments and media.
The manufacturers of the weapon, Almaz-Antey, have said that recent tests involving BUK anti-aircraft missiles prove that any explosion caused by such missiles would lave a distinctive “butterfly-shaped’ hole in the shrapnel – something missing from the shrapnel found on flight MH17.
Rt.com reports:
MH17 shot with BUK missile, Ukraine failed to close airspace http://t.co/PV1SiKozKY pic.twitter.com/SgPrE1vvY1
— RT America (@RT_America) October 13, 2015
8 things we learned through Dutch report, BUK arms maker on #MH17 crash in Ukraine http://t.co/U7CFzHvwu5 pic.twitter.com/eGkPnNiLKY — RT (@RT_com) October 13, 2015
The Dutch Safety Board concluded the plane, which was carrying almost 300 people, was hit with a 9N314M-model warhead mounted on the 9M38-series missile. The weapon was fired from a BUK surface-to-air missile system from an area in eastern Ukraine.
Almaz-Antey maintains that in fact a 9N314 warhead was responsible. On Wednesday, they commented on the differences between the two warheads and whose defense forces may have been using the missiles mentioned by the Dutch investigators.
Russia denies Dutch report on #MH17, agrees Ukraine should’ve closed air space – regulator http://t.co/lYWetzfjBI pic.twitter.com/mqF5EN5sMW
— RT (@RT_com) October 14, 2015
‘It remains our belief’: US insists rebels downed MH17 with BUK missile, ignores Dutch report http://t.co/yjwuCLSy3a pic.twitter.com/8SGbFtr7wF — RT (@RT_com) October 14, 2015
“We obtained this information through official channels. Back in 2005, the company conducted a pre-contractual engineering study of how long these types of missiles could be used for in Ukraine,” Almaz-Antey said, adding that they had a shelf-life of around 25 years.
“We also have data that 502 missiles of the outdated 9M38 modification were used by Ukraine’s armed forces during the same year,” the company added.
#MH17 downed by outdated BUK missile fired from Kiev-controlled area – system manufacturer http://t.co/WSDbJHa3fz pic.twitter.com/RjlCD4I96q
— RT (@RT_com) October 13, 2015
On October 13 the Almaz-Antey defense company presented the results of two full-scale experiments aimed at recreating the MH17 crash. The company concluded the missile that downed the flight was an old BUK model fired from a Ukrainian government controlled area, contesting the preliminary theory by Dutch investigators.