As the West and Russia confront each other over the Ukraine crisis, the region is witnessing
the deployment of unprecedented weaponry.
Amid the Ukraine crisis, Russia has reportedly stationed an unknown number of MiG-31K ‘Foxhound’
fighter jet armed with Kinzhal hypersonic land-attack missile in Kaliningrad along the
Baltic Coast.
A video shared on social media shows the fighter jet armed with a Kinzhal missile landing at
the Chkalovsk naval airbase in Kaliningrad which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
This move to deploy Kinzhal meaning 'Dagger' is being seen as a major escalation.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how Russia has put the West on notice by deploying
MiG-31k armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missile?
Lets' get started.
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It is clear that things are heating up.
World leaders are shuttling between capitals to avoid the conflict but the rival militaries
are preparing for a fight.
If Russia invades, President Putin will want the conflict to be short and decisive.
To that effect it has two objectives:
1.
Swiftly destroy Ukrainian command and control so that Ukraine can't mount a coordinated
defense.
Precision strikes can achieve this.
2.
The Russian military has overwhelming superiority over Ukraine and will want the conflict to
be one on one.
It will like to deter any external intervention.
To achieve this, Russia has bought out one of its most dreaded weapon platforms - the
Kinzhal equipped MiG-31K strike aircraft.
Mikoyan MiG-31is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for use by the Soviet Air
Forces.
The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25
“Foxbat”.
It was designed to defend the vast northern expanses of the then Soviet Union.
MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25.
The MiG-31 has the distinction of being one of the fastest combat jets in the world.
It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force.
The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until 2030 or beyond
with several upgrades.
It is powered by two Soloviev D-30F6 after-burning turbofan engines which generate 93 kN (21,000
lbf) thrust each dry and 152 kN (34,000 lbf) with afterburner.
MiG-31 has a max speed of Mach 2.83 and has a service ceiling of 25,000 m or 82,000 ft.
The K variant is capable of carrying the Kinzhal missile.
Viewers may note that Kinzhal was one of the several new weapons first mentioned by Russian
President Putin on March 1, 2018, in his State of Nation address before Russian lawmakers
and other senior government officials.
It is a hypersonic weapon -an object is said to be hypersonic once they exceed the speeds
of Mach 5 that is 5 times the speed of sound which is about 1,715 m/sec or 3,836 mph or
6,174 km/h.
There are currently 3 methods being applied to make hypersonic weapons - using Hypersonic
Glide Vehicle (HGV), using a Scramjet engine or using Air-Launched Ballistic missile (ALBM).
Kinzhal is essentially an ALBM and is thought to be derived from a ground-launched Iskander
missile.
It reportedly has a top speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
It goes ballistic after launch.
The missile has a range of approximately 2000 km or 1,250 miles when launched from MiG-31K.
The choice of integrating it to MiG-31K, which would probably launch the Kinzhal from +60,000
feet at supersonic speed, is aimed at giving the missile much more reach than it would
have if launched from the ground.
Kinzhal is also known to be nuclear-capable and able to hit ground as well as naval targets.
It can carry a warhead of 500 kg or around 1100 lbs.
It is powered by a solid-propellant rocket.
It is capable of precision strikes using a terrain-matching sensor, as well as engaging
moving ships at sea using a radar seeker.
As per unconfirmed reports, the Russian Air Force has formed an Aviation Squadron with
10-12 MiG-31K.
The combination of Kinzhal & Mig 31K is lethal since it could be launched from unpredictable
locations and its target envelope is very large.
As per Russian claims, Kinzhal is capable of making rapid course corrections or otherwise
flying erratically.
This coupled with the weapon’s speed makes it almost impossible to track and intercept.
While Ukraine has several types of air defenses, there is very little chance that it can intercept
a missile-like Kinzhal.
So, with this missile -Russia holds all the high-value installations of Ukraine at risk.
Not only this, it will be a message for the West to not get into this conflict.
Kinzhal fired over Kaliningrad’s airspace can strike most West European capitals including
London, Paris, Rome and probably hit them in 10-15 minutes.
This is a real deterrence against any pressure tactics
by the U.S & NATO.