Russia claimed it had successfully test launched a new hypersonic interceptor missile system
with a precision unmatched by any other country.
According to a tweet from the ministry, the reported launch took place at Sary-Shagan,
an anti-ballistic missile testing range in Kazakhstan.
The tweet included a video of the test launch which showed the missile being launched from
the site.
The link to the tweet is provided in the ‘Description' section below.
Anyone used to watching a missile launch will find this missile launch especially interesting
since it seems incredibly fast.
So, please have a look.
The Ministry of Defense didn't specify the name or specifications of the new missile
and only indicated that the weapon successfully struck designated dummy target.
As per reports, the interceptor is named PRS-1M or 53T6M and is thought to be an upgrade of
the older 53T6 missile.
In this video Defense Updates analyses Russia's newest PRS-1M Hypersonic interceptor.
Let's gets started
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Interceptor missiles are basically missiles that are designed to knock out incoming enemy
missiles.
Missile defense is one of the most technologically challenging quests, it's like hitting a bullet
with another bullet.
On the surface, it looks like a defensive weaponry but there is much more to it as it
can disturb the MAD equilibrium.
Mutually assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security
policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would
cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.
It is based on the theory of deterrence, which holds that the threat of using strong weapons
against the enemy prevents the enemy's use of those same weapons.
The strategy is a form of Nash equilibrium in which, once armed, neither side has any
incentive to initiate a conflict or to disarm.
This balance will be disturbed if any country is able to field a fully functional missile
defense system that can defend against the enemy’s missile.
It is estimated that the U.S has 6550 nukes whereas Russia has 6850 and China has 280 nukes.
An object is said to be hypersonic once they exceed speeds of Mach 5 that is 5 times the
speed of sound.
This is about 1,715 meters per second or 3,836mph or 6,174 km/h.
As reported by several Russian media outlets, the PRS-1M interceptor missile is capable
of speeds between 3,000 and 5,000 meters per second that is Mach 10 to Mach 17.
In terms of Hypersonic weapons, Russia has been ahead of other nations including the
U.S.
It has already deployed a hypersonic missile named Kinzhal or Dagger.
It reportedly has a range of approximately 1,250 miles or 2000 km and a top speed of
more than 10 times the speed of sound i.e.
Mach 10.
It is also capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
According to President Putin, the missile has been deployed operationally in units in
the country’s Southern Military District.
The PRS-1M is a new hypersonic interceptor developed by Russia as part of the A-135 missile
defense system.
It will act as a replacement for the 53T6 endo-atmospheric interceptor.
The 53T6 was a short-range interceptor designed to intercept Intermediated Range Ballistic
missile whereas PRS-1M or 53T6M is designed to neutralize even Intercontinental Ballistic
missiles.
The interceptor missile is thought to feature an improved guidance system to isolate incoming
rival missile warheads from decoys.
It also has an improved propulsion system that is incorporated to enhance is inflight
performance.
This is made possible partly due to the addition of a new composite fuel that allows achieving
hypersonic velocity.
As per reports, Russian Military conducted the first test ever of the PRS-1M interceptor
in November 2017 from Kazakhstan and the second one on February 12, 2018, from the same location.
The PRS-1M is estimated to have a range of 2000 km or 1250 miles which is similar to
its predecessor.
The Russian Military is developing this missile with the aim that a single 53T6M would be
able to take out an incoming nuclear warhead.
So, it is presumed that a lot of work has been done to make it reliable and very accurate.
As stated in an article by gazeta.ru which was analyzing the missile, 'the new product's
kill zone is practically one and a half times greater in terms of altitude and range.'
It added, 'Interception of enemy ICBM warheads is now assured at an altitude substantially
higher than 50 km (31 miles).
The missile carries a nuclear warhead of several kilotons.’
The Ballistic Missile defense will be key to defending important cities and strategic
sites from enemy’s missiles.
They are incredibly complex & expensive to develop and even more pricey to operationally
deploy.
This is why it is persuaded by only a few nations.
Even the U.S has seen mixed success from its Anti Ballistic Missile defense program named
GMD or Ground-Based Midcourse Defense.
GMD is currently being tested & developed with an aim to protect against incoming missiles
by engaging them during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight in space.
The system is designed to protect the U.S mainland.
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense is the only system that is available to U.S military which
can intercept Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).
Other systems like THAAD can take on only Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles.
In a recent test, the system successfully intercepted a Ballistic missile target which
was launched from 4,000 miles or around 6450 km away using 2 GBI interceptors in a “double
tap” style engagement.
These interceptors are supersonic, unlike the Russian one which is claimed to be Hypersonic.
Hypersonic interceptor has advantages.
A hypersonic interceptor will need a much smaller time to engage an incoming missile,
which means with these Russia will probably be able to get multiple shots on an incoming
missile improving the kill probability to a large extent.
Another aspect is that hypersonic interpreter launch could be delayed when compared to the
supersonic interceptor and this time can be utilized to better ascertain the ballistic
missile trajectory of the enemy missile which can eventually lead to a better hit rate.
Michael Griffin, the Pentagon's new undersecretary of defense for research and engineering had
said last year that Russia and China threaten to overtake the US with new technologies.
Griffin had added that the department will be demanding more funding for hypersonic weapons
and said that the goal is to develop more superior hypersonic technologies in the early
2020s.
It is to be noted here that the U.S State Department announced last year that the hypersonic
capabilities are the “highest technical priority,” according to Defense News.
Any information coming out from Russia must be taken in a pinch of salt as the media is
very much controlled by the state and several Russian systems have been published to be
more capable than they actually are.
But if the capability of the PRS-1M is true, then it will surely pose a challenge to Ballistic
Missiles especially the Minuteman III which is the only land-based ICBM in service in
the United States.
The Minuteman system is more than 50 years old.
It was designed during the 1950s and introduced in 1962 as counterattack and deterrent against
the Soviets.
Minuteman-III was deployed in 1970.
The subsystems like sensors and guidance are all built with technology that is prehistoric
by today's standards.
Minuteman III carries a maximum of 3 MIRV (Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle).
It was extremely impressive for the era it was designed but is well below power now when
compared to newest missiles like Russian RS-28 Sarmat that can carry as many as 24 MIRV.
Small MIRV count means that Russian Ballistic missile defense will have a much easier scenario
to deal with.
It remains to be seen what’s steps America takes.