According to the authors of the article, the hypersonic “daggers” caused great concern because of Russia’s complex arsenal, and this showed that Moscow has a weapon that is difficult to intercept, which the United States and its allies do not yet have.
Hypersonic missiles, the publication explains, are highly maneuverable weapons that travel at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. This makes them extremely difficult to intercept. The United States and China are also developing hypersonic weapons. And after Russia first used them in Ukraine last March, President Biden called the missiles “almost unstoppable.”
The Ukrainian military said its air defense systems, including Western-supplied systems, were unable to intercept Kinzhal missiles.
Russia has other hypersonic weapons capable of carrying a nuclear payload, the US newspaper notes, but demonstrating the Kinzhal’s capabilities in combat is increasing pressure on Washington as the hypersonic arms race heats up and Washington must catch up. its delay.
Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London, commented on the capabilities of “Daggers”: “They are considered a priority weapon category by most major countries.”
Kaushal added that hypersonic weapons are difficult to intercept due to their speed, altitude and maneuverability.
Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said on Thursday that Russia had so far used around 20 Kinzhal missiles. “It flies very fast, notes Ignat. It can be detected, but it is impossible to shoot it down.”
Also, according to Ignat, “Dagger” does not waste energy on takeoff. A jet fighter lifts it through the air to the upper layers of the atmosphere, where the air is thin. There, the engines ignite and the rocket flies at high speed.
Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate, estimated that Russia probably has around 40 Kinzhals. But as numerous as they are, the use of Kinzhals has demonstrated a weapon that Ukraine cannot shoot down and that Russia can use against important targets in the future.
