The 9M728 R-500 is a Russian ground-launched cruise missile associated with the Iskander-K configuration of the 9K720 Iskander system. It gives the road-mobile Iskander launcher a low-altitude land-attack cruise-missile option alongside the 9M723 ballistic missile family, and has been documented in Russian use during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Russian forces have used Iskander-K cruise missiles in Ukraine; RUSI specifically identifies 9M728 among the Iskander cruise-missile types used in the war, and the Wisconsin Project lists 9M728/R-500 in its table of Russian missiles used in Ukraine.
Role detailsOpen sources treat 9M728/R-500 as the principal SSC-7 Iskander-K cruise missile, while RUSI notes that 9M727 may be an earlier related cruise missile and that public distinctions between the two are unclear.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9M727 | Related Iskander cruise missile | RUSI describes the 9M727 as possibly an earlier version of 9M728, with both types reported in Ukraine and public differences unclear. |
| 9M729 | Related Iskander cruise missile | CSIS identifies 9M729 as another cruise missile that the common Iskander TEL and support vehicles can fire. Sources: CSIS 9K720 Iskander SS-26 |
The 9M728 is cataloged separately from the Iskander launcher because open sources describe it as a munition fired by the road-mobile Iskander system.
| Launcher | Launcher type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Road-mobile missile system | CSIS describes the common Iskander TEL and support vehicles as able to fire 9M728/R-500 cruise missiles, and RUSI describes mixed missile loads on the 9P78-1 launcher. Sources: CSIS 9K720 Iskander SS-26, RUSI Iskander-M and Iskander-K technical profile |
The 9M728 record separates the cruise missile from the Iskander launcher family so readers can distinguish munition evidence from system-level Iskander coverage.
| Designation | Reader context | Sourced distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 9M728 / R-500 / SSC-7 | Ground-launched cruise missile | Listed by CSIS and the Wisconsin Project as an Iskander-K cruise missile used by Russian forces. |
| 9K720 Iskander | Launcher and missile-system family | The cataloged Iskander page covers the road-mobile TEL, support vehicles, and broader ballistic/cruise missile system. |
| 9M723 | Ballistic missile family member | RUSI separates the 9M723 quasi-ballistic missile group from the Iskander cruise missiles derived from the 3M-14 family. |
GlobalSecurity cites 1996 as the start of R-500 development by Ekaterinburg OKB Novator.
GlobalSecurity reports the first R-500 launch from an Iskander 9P78-1 self-propelled launcher at Kapustin Yar.
The Wisconsin Project lists Iskander-K 9M728/R-500 as having entered service in 2009.
RUSI and the Wisconsin Project both identify Iskander-K 9M728/R-500 among Russian missile types used in Ukraine.
