The Kinzhal hypersonic missile, one of five “wonder weapons” that Russian President Vladimir Putin presented in 2018, has proven vulnerable to American air defense systems.
The brainchild of a state arms program that the government has spent 20 trillion rubles on over the past 10 years, the missile was shot down in a May 4 night attack on Ukrainian territory. This was reported in the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after which the information was confirmed by a high-ranking CNN source in Washington.
According to him, Patriot systems developed back in the 1970s, which Ukraine received in April from Germany and the Netherlands, were used to intercept the missile.
Talking about the “Dagger”, Putin claimed that he “has no analogues in the world” and “is guaranteed to overcome existing and promising air defense and missile defense systems.” But the Kinzhal interception showed that the Patriot is capable of hitting not only ballistic missiles, but also air-launched missiles, which was previously considered only a theoretical possibility, the CNN source says.
The downed Kinzhal, which can fly 10 times faster than the speed of sound and carry a warhead weighing up to half a ton, sparked a lively discussion in the Pentagon, he emphasizes: before launching these missiles, Russia was sure that the targets would be hit. But now those calculations are broken, the source says.
Commenting on the supply of Western weapons, Putin expressed confidence that Russian troops would “click” Patriot, which Kyiv has been asking allies for since the beginning of the war. What happened is “a slap in the face of Russia,” Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said on Saturday.
Russia claimed the Patriot was “outdated American systems and Russian weapons are the best in the world,” but it is now clear that US air defenses are working against hypersonic missiles as well, he said.
Source : The Moscow Times
