Military experts got hyper-worried about advancements in hypersonic missiles by Russia after a Friday Russian missile strike in Ukraine.
Russia announced in an email to Bloomberg that it fired Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy an underground weapons storage site in the west Ukrainian city Delatyn. The attack was the first known use of the Kinzhal missile system in the three-week war, said state news service RIA Novosti.
Kinzhal (“Dagger”) missiles can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. The missiles fly 10 times faster than the speed of sound — more than 2 miles per second — Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly explained in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIC), a U.S.-based think tank, explains Russia’s designation of the Kinzhal as a “hypersonic” missile is somewhat misleading because nearly all ballistic missiles reach hypersonic speeds at some point during flight.
The Pentagon’s 2022 budget requested $3.8 billion for hypersonic research — up from $3.2 billion in 2021, according to a CSIC report.
“Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons do not follow a ballistic trajectory and can maneuver en route to their destination,” CSIC analyst Kelley Sayler noted. “Hypersonic weapons could challenge detection and defense due to their speed, maneuverability, and low altitude of flight.” Ms. Sayler added terrestrial-based radar cannot detect hypersonic weapons until late in the weapon’s flight.
Russian media reports Kinzhal’s top speed as Mach 10, with a range of up to 1,200 miles when launched from the MiG-31. The Kinzhal is reportedly capable of maneuverable flight, as well as of striking both ground and naval targets, and could eventually be fitted with a nuclear warhead, the CSIC report noted. The Congressional Research report cautions that claims regarding Kinzhal’s performance characteristics have not been publicly verified by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), and are viewed with skepticism by IC analysts.
China may be significantly more advanced than the U.S. or Russia in the area of hypersonic technology, according to the “Daily Wire” report.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman, General John Hyten, said that China was developing hypersonic weapons that look like a first-use weapon. “That’s what those weapons look like to me,” Hyten said.
Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe warned the Biden administration was in for a shock once they learn about advancements the Chinese military has made in recent years.
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