Ukraine says it shot down Russian Kinzhal missiles. What is the hypersonic weapon?

Ukraine claims it has achieved a rare feat in the war: shooting down an advanced Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile.

The Russian air force fired six Kh-47M2 Kinzhals at a target in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, early Tuesday, a weapon that has been used infrequently since the early months of the February 2022 invasion of the neighboring country.

Ukraine has not said whether US-supplied Patriot missiles were used to thwart some or all of the attempted attacks, but it comes 10 days after the military said it brought down another Kinzhal, over Kyiv, using the Patriot missile defense system. The Pentagon is also credited Patriot system to prevent an attack on May 6.

If the Patriot missile can intercept the Kinzhal, it is an important development in air defense, according to experts.

Here’s a look at what makes the Kinzhal different from other missiles Russia has used against Ukraine and why its ability to blow it out of the sky, before it strikes, is a big deal.

How is Kinzhal different from other missiles?

Kinzhal, which means “dagger” in Russian, is an air-launched ballistic missile.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the weapon in 2018, he said it could penetrate existing and future missile defense systems.

The Kinzhal is a cousin of the 9K720 Iskander-M – a short-range ground-launched ballistic missile used by Russia. quite often throughout the war.

It is said to be a hypersonic missile, which means it travels at least five times faster than the speed of sound. Russia claims Kinzhal can reach Mach 10 – that’s 10 times the speed of sound, or 12,350 km/h – at a distance of 2,000 kilometers.

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Russia uses modified MiG-31 fighter jets to launch eight-meter-long missiles from the air, something that helps boost speed, said Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think-tank. in London.

But he called Russia’s hypersonic description a “conscious misdirection.”

“It’s flying at hypersonic speeds, but usually what we’re talking about when we use that term is what we can do at hypersonic speeds,” he said.

Tom Karako, senior fellow and director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, agreed that Russia’s claims about Kinzhal’s hypersonic maneuvers may be exaggerated compared to the weapons it is usually touted as. hypersonic, such as cruise or boost glide missiles.

“[It] it may not be at hypersonic speeds, but it’s a very sophisticated and challenging interception problem,” he said.

Why is it so hard to shoot?

First, it is difficult to intercept because of its flying height, which is between 30 and 40 kilometers above the ground, Kaushal said, meaning it is above some lower-level air defense interceptors but also below ballistic missile defenses. systems operating at higher altitudes, such as the US THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system.

“So, they can’t intercept the missile in the middle, but they can do it because it’s going down to the target,” he said.

But the difficulty does not end there.

When the Kinzhal was in its terminal phase and rapidly descending toward the target, it released six decoys that “mimic the radar signature of the warhead itself,” Kaushal said.

“If the air defense system on the ground fires at the interceptor, in principle, it can destroy the decoys instead of the warheads that actually do it,” he said.

Is this a success story?

Although Russia has used dozens of small supply Kinzhals during the war, the interception on May 6 – and possibly on Tuesday – is the first sign that Ukraine has been able to destroy this type of missile.

It would be a “proof of system capability” if the Patriot missile system could intercept the Kinzhal missile, CSIS’s Karako said, adding that it “seems to be coming in time.”

The United States, along with Germany and the Netherlands, contributed the Patriot missile defense system came to Ukraine last month.

Karako said he does not think it should change the course of the conflict for the Ukrainians, but can “prevent from taking bigger strategic hits.”

But the possibility of successful interceptions has also come at a cost. Russia claimed that one of the six Kinzhals fired overnight was not intercepted and struck the Patriot system in Kyiv, which the Russian military said it was targeting.

according to CNNThe US Department of Defense is evaluating whether Patriot systems were damaged in the attack.

Regarding Russia, Karako and Kaushal said that the supply of Kinzhals in Russia is limited, and it is not easy to replace them.

Kaushal said there had been a number of constraints limiting Russia’s missile production before the war – including one major component manufacturer declaring bankruptcy – but export controls also prevented its ability to obtain parts to make the Kinzhal and Iskander missiles, which have also run out. during the war.

“Whatever they feel they are targeting is a high-cost missile,” he said.