Russia's Kinzhal Hypersonic Missile: It Can "Overcome All Current Defense Systems"

Created: 03/19/2022, 22:31

Russia is said to have used a hypersonic missile for the first time in the Ukraine war.

According to Russian statements, it can fly to targets 2,000 kilometers away.

What's behind it.

Moscow - Hypersonic missiles: Russia is said to have used them for the first time in an attack on an underground weapons storage facility in western Ukraine.

This was announced by the Russian government around President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, March 19.

The new rocket should be able to be stopped by hardly any defense system.

Germany is also researching the technology.

Hypersonic missile "Kinzhal" in the Ukraine war: Previously it was only used in maneuvers

The Ch-47M2 Kinzhal ("Dagger") hypersonic missile is one of the most fearsome additions to the Russian Air Force.

The rocket is about eight meters long, flies extremely fast and extremely high, but remains manoeuvrable, according to Russian information.

President Vladimir Putin publicly introduced the “Kinzhal” missiles as one of several superweapons in his March 2018 address to the nation.

According to him, the new rocket should reach up to ten times the speed of sound.

So far, "Kinzhal" missiles have been used primarily for maneuvers - most recently a few days before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, which began on February 24.

A Russian Air Force interceptor flies loaded with a Kinzhal missile at the Russian Victory Day military parade.

© Pavel Golovkin/dpa

Hypersonic missile "Kinschal": weapon system should have a range of up to 2000 kilometers

The "Kinzhal" is fired from high altitude by MiG-31 interceptors.

Only at a safe distance from the aircraft does its own rocket engine ignite.

It first carries the "Kinschal" up to 20 kilometers high, where the rocket has to withstand high friction temperatures, and then down to the target.

When launched from a MiG-31, the weapon system has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, according to Russian information.

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The "Kinschal" carries up to 480 kilograms of explosives or a nuclear warhead.

The missile could thus attack important infrastructure in Europe, such as airfields, wrote the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Large NATO ships on the Atlantic could also become targets.

• Ch-47M2 Kinzhal (“Dagger”) hypersonic missile

• Range (according to Russian information): 2000 kilometers - with weapon system

• Speed ​​(according to Russian data): Up to ten times the speed of sound

• Explosive power (according to Russian data): up to 480 kilograms of explosives or a nuclear warhead

• Hardly intercepted by current missile defense systems

Hypersonic missile "Kinzhal" is almost impossible to intercept - "overcomes all current missile defense systems"

The USA and China are also working on the development of hypersonic missiles, which Russia says it has now used in the Ukraine war.

NATO also lists research in Britain, France, Germany, Australia and India in a 2020 paper.

Part of it is about defending against such missiles.

Because the new weapon class creates strategic uncertainty: is a conventional missile flying at me so quickly, or is it a nuclear attack?

"Hypersonic missiles, with their novel combination of speed and maneuverability, can overcome all current missile defense systems and radically reduce the reaction time of the attacked actor," wrote the Munich Security Conference in its 2019 report. According to NATO, too, they can hardly be intercepted with conventional air defense or missile defense.

The western alliance has dubbed the new Russian weapon AS-24 Killjoy (“spoilsport”).

Russia also has nuclear weapons.

But how big is the arsenal?