Putin fires hypersonic missile capable of Mach 10 at Ukrainian target

Putin fires hypersonic missile capable of travelling ten times the speed of sound fired at a target in Ukraine

Russian forces escalated their military campaign in Ukraine today, Saturday, March 19. In what is believed to be its first time in full use under battle conditions, Putin ordered the firing of a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

This new fearsome projectile is capable of travelling at a speed of Mach 10, in other words, ten times faster than the speed of sound. It was used to target and destroy a military warehouse in western Ukraine.

Major General Igor Konashenkov, a Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed that a “large underground repository of missiles and aerial ammunition” was destroyed in the town of Deliatin, in the Ivanko-Frankovsk region. He added that Kinzhal missiles were used in the operation.

The high-precision Kinzhal (which means ‘dagger’ in Russian) missile has a range of 2,000 miles, and can carry both nuclear warheads and conventional charges. It was presented to the world in March 2018, when the first test was carried out.

According to Moscow, it is capable of circumventing any existing anti-missile shield. One of its main characteristics is the ability to permanently manoeuvre during its trajectory, making it extremely difficult to intercept.

It can be deployed from a fighter plane. The airborne version of this missile reportedly provides greater range, deployability, and flexibility compared to ground-mounted Iskanders. This missile also offers anti-ship capabilities, so it can pose a threat to US and NATO aircraft carriers.

Putin personally supervised the launch of several Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missiles last February, just days before the invasion was launched.

During the Kinzhal presentation in 2018, Putin assured that Russia is responding “to the anti-missile defence systems that the Americans install in Europe”. He detailed, “American Aegis fly at a maximum speed of Mach 5, but to reach a rocket that moves even at a speed of Mach 10, you have to have an anti-rocket with a speed of Mach 15, which the US does not have”, as reported by larazon.es.

▫️Destruction of a weapons depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by high-precision missile weapons strike. We can see the exact hit of an underground hangar with weapons and ammunition. pic.twitter.com/sKTF46Tdb0

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) March 19, 2022

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