Kinzhal missiles: new attacks on Ukraine

Russia says it is using the Ch-47M2 Kinzhal missile. However, there are great doubts about a widespread video. New attacks may have been planned.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, updated from 8:00 am: In a speech, US President Joe Biden referred to Russia’s use of “Kinsal” hypersonic missiles. “They launched the hypersonic missile because it’s the only thing they can get with absolute certainty,” Biden said.

This is a sign of Russian weakness, and Putin is standing behind the wall, considering the heavy military casualties in the Ukraine war. Russian President NATO does not count on unity. Russia recently claimed to have used the “Kinsal” missile twice. There are serious doubts about this (see update from 11:30 am on March 22, 2022). Despite the rumors, the Kremlin has announced new uses for Putin’s “invincible weapon” (see update from March 22, 2022, 3:30 pm).

Ukraine war: Russia announces new ‘Kinsal’ missile strikes

+++ 3.30pm: Russia has announced new attacks on Ukraine using Ch-47M2 hypersonic Kinzhal missiles. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said in Moscow on Tuesday that “these airstrikes will continue to attack Ukrainian military infrastructure during special military operations.” According to the Kremlin, the Kinzhal rocket has been used twice so far. There are considerable doubts about this (see update from 11.30am).

Updated from 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2022: As recently known, Russia was the first to use a hypersonic missile called the “Ch-47M2 Kinzhal” (see first report). According to media reports, the bullet was described, among other things, as Vladimir Putin’s “invincible weapon.” Appropriately, the Kremlin distributed video of the first use of the rocket. The authenticity of these records is currently in doubt. The video shows something completely different.

Shortly after the video was released, many experts were already skeptical. According to Russian officials, the video shows the bombing of a Ukrainian arsenal. However, it is not known if such an explosion would have caused further eruptions. Instead, the video shows a half-minute building fire, with no additional explosions. This review is mainly from “The War Zone” site. Accordingly, the video distributed by Russia was fake. It does not show an arms store, but a farm. It is also located in eastern Ukraine where the bombing took place a week ago.

The biggest doubts about the reliability are based on the possible starting point of the drone that provided the records. It is an “Orlan 10” drone that can go up to 150 kilometers, even up to 600 kilometers in exceptional cases. This was reported by NTV. Russia on Saturday said it had a bombed-out Ukrainian warehouse in western Ukraine, not far from the border between Hungary and Romania. The platform said that if it was really the location of the camp, the drone would have departed from Moldova.

Putin’s Kinsha missile: That’s the invincible weapon ‘is very dangerous

First Report from 3:45 pm on Saturday, March 19, 2022: Moscow – it’s fast, accurate – and it is considered Putin’s secret weapon. The Conflict in Ukraine Relentlessly furious, for the first time Russia It now uses a Kinzhal-type rocket nicknamed the “Ch-47M2 Kinzhal”. This is the first time a hypersonic missile has been used, according to the AFP news agency. The Ukraine war A premiere, so to speak.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin After the first successful test in 2018 the sophisticated weapon was hailed as “practically invincible”. But what makes the rocket so dangerous?

Putin’s secret weapon: Kinsale hypersonic missile destroys ammunition depot in Ukraine

In fact, The Hypersonic missile in the first use Ukraine war Caused a fair amount of damage. According to information received from Moscow, the missile arsenal in the Ivano-Frankivsk region was destroyed by a hypersonic missile called “Kinzal”. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konoshenkov said on Saturday that a ballistic missile had destroyed an underground ammunition depot of the Ukrainian Air Force in Deloitte, southwestern Ukraine, on Friday (March 18, 2022).

Russia was the first country in the world to develop hypersonic missiles. These missiles are capable of changing altitude and direction at extreme speeds – avoiding enemy anti-aircraft defenses. The reason for the development of missiles is Moscow’s desire to break the US missile shield stationed in Europe. Now for the first time she came against them Ukraine For use.

Hypersonic missile “Kinsal”: Russia’s weapon of “high destructive power”

Vasily Kashin, a military expert and head of a research center in Moscow, spoke of the “world debut” after the use of the Kinzhal missile. The Russian military apparently wanted to use the missile in war situations. According to Kashin, the arsenal in the village of Deliat was a clear target for a Kinzel missile: “Such infrastructure is difficult to destroy by classic missiles. Because of its high speed, the hypersonic missile has high penetration and destructive power.”

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile will reach Mach 10 speeds, i.e. at 12,000 kilometers per hour. It carries 480 kilograms of ammunition or nuclear weapons. According to Russian sources, the new type of rocket has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. This means that most major European cities can be reached within 10 to 30 minutes.

Hypersonic missiles are launched by Russian MiG-31 fighter jets. This expands their range by air distance. It ignites its own rocket engine only at a safe distance from the aircraft.

Ukraine war: Putin’s hypersonic missile “Kinjal” is very dangerous

One of the most treacherous things about Putin’s Kinsale hypersonic missile is its speed and motion. Rocket faster than conventional supersonic weapons. And unlike ballistic missiles, it is highly maneuverable at the rear of the aircraft. This sets aside some time to react to the enemy’s air defenses.

After launch, Kinshal rises to an altitude of 18 to 20 km. This is probably the so-called transitional navigation system and GLONASS satellite navigation system. Since the rocket can change the flying altitude in the atmosphere, escape maneuvers at any time are possible.

Kinsale: The United States lags behind in hypersonic missiles

Russia is not the only country with these types of weapons. Even China Afp said such missiles were in possession. North Korea Has at least ventilated prototypes. They too have been investing for many years United States Billions of dollars in the development and production of hypersonic weapons. The success so far has been manageable. Extreme temperatures that occur when rockets are flying are considered a major problem.

In addition to the United States, the NATO 2020 study also lists research in Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia and India. However, in part, it’s about protecting against hypersonic missiles. There are reasons.

Hypersonic missile “Kinsel”: West “no defense” against Putin’s secret weapon

This is because security systems in Western countries are also lagging behind. In 2018, US Air Force General John Hayton acknowledged that “we do not have the security to prevent such a weapon from being used against us.” The report of the 2019 Munich Defense Conference states: “Hypersonic missiles, with a new combination of speed and maneuverability, will break all existing missile defense systems and drastically reduce the reaction time of the attacked cast.” (nc / tu)