The American anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) Patriot could not shoot down the Russian hypersonic missile “Dagger”, since it is not capable of intercepting targets at such speed. It is reported RIA News And CASS in reference to a high-ranking source within the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to him, the flight speed of the “Dagger” exceeds the limiting combat modes of Western missile systems, including Patriot.
“In addition, the anti-missile maneuver performed by Kinzhal in the final flight segment and the almost vertical approach to the target exclude the interception of this weapon by anti-aircraft missile systems,” added the interlocutor of the agency.
He called the reports of the Ukrainian side about the interception of the Russian missile “stuffing” and “an attempt at wishful thinking”.
On May 5, the Ukrainian edition of Defense Express reported that on the night of May 4, the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time successfully intercepted a Russian Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in the skies above Kiev. The Kiev City Military Administration on the night of the bombing reported that the city had been attacked by drones and “probably ballistic-type” missiles, which were reportedly destroyed.
On May 6, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk said that the “dagger” was shot down by the Patriot complex. May 9, US Department of Defense Press Secretary Patrick Ryder confirmed his words.
Paul Ronzheimer, a correspondent for German tabloid Bild, tweeted two videos on May 10 in which Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko and Kiev Forensic Research Institute director Oleksandr Ruvin allegedly show the wreckage of the downed Kinzhal.
Russian President Vladimir Putin first introduced the Kinzhal missile to the general public during his State of the Union address in March 2018. He said the rocket is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 10 (about 12,000 km / h), its range is more than 2,000 km. Putin said the missile could “guarantee defeating all existing and, I think, promising air defense and missile defense systems.” In August 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed that the “dagger” is used during the military operation in Ukraine for strikes “at particularly important targets”. Shoigu noted that “no one else has a missile like the Kinzhal” and that it “cannot be detected or intercepted”.
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