What are hypersonic missiles and why their use by Russia in Ukraine “is a signal” from Moscow to the West

the army of Russia fired a hypersonic ballistic missile that destroyed a large underground weapons depot in western Ukraineas announced by the Moscow Defense Ministry.

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If confirmed, it would be the first time Russia has used the Kinzhal ballistic missile, whose name means “dagger,” in this war.

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The projectile was fired from the airmost likely from a MiG-31 fighter.

What are hypersonic missiles?

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly highlighted Russia’s bet on hypersonic missiles, which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5.

The statistics are overwhelming: according to the Russian government, the Kinzhal can fly at more than 6,000 km/h. hit targets at a distance of up to 2,000 km.

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile on a Mikoyan MiG-31K fighter during an air show in Moscow in 2018. (GETTY IMAGES)

These rockets are 8 meters long and are also characterized by high maneuverability.

But does that make them more dangerous than other conventional missiles and artillery in causing death and destruction?

“I don’t see it as significant,” says James Acton, a nuclear policy specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I don’t know how much advantage the use of hypersonic missiles gives Russia.”

President Putin boasted last December that Russia was the world leader in hypersonic missileswhich are difficult to track because they can change direction mid-flight.

Moscow released a video of what it said was its missile attack on the weapons depot in Deliatyn, a village in southwestern Ukraine, just 100km from the Romanian border.

“It’s a staging. Even if they are used, we have to consider them as an isolated resource because Russia does not have a large number of these missiles,” said Dominika Kunertova of the Center for Security Studies in Zurich.

“It is a signal to the West”

Four years ago the Russian leader introduced the Kinzhal as part of a series of “invincible” weapons that he said would evade enemy defenses. The other hypersonic missiles are the Zirkon and the Avangard, faster and with a much greater range.

Putin defends Russian military superiority in his public interventions. Here, in his speech on March 18 on the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. (GETTY IMAGES).

The Kinzhal can carry a conventional warhead or a nuclear and, according to recent reports, MiG-31 fighters have been dispatched to Kaliningrad, putting numerous European capitals within range. It is unknown from where the attack on the weapons depot was launched.

“It’s a signal to the West, because Putin is upset that the West dares to ship all these weapons (to Ukraine),” Kunertova told the BBC.

“It’s questionable that (the missile) is that accurate, so it’s not a game changer.”

According to James Acton, the Kinzhal was believed to be an Iskander missile modified for fighter aircraft. Iskander-M missiles have already been fired from Russian ground-based launchers since the beginning of the war.

Although the Iskander-M has a much shorter range than an air-launched one, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said this week that Russia had fired almost all of its Iskander-M missiles during the first 20 days of the war.

A US defense official claimed Friday that Russian forces had fired more than 1,080 missiles since February 24.

“This is a staggering number and a very significant part of Russia’s pre-war inventory,” Acton told the BBC, noting the increasing use of unguided bombs in Russian airstrikes. “It is quite possible that they are running out of precise ammunition.”

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Source: Elcomercio