Russia has said it successfully tested Kinzhal (‘Dagger’) air-launched hypersonic missile.
The weapon has been tested in freezing Arctic conditions.
Russian sources indicated It successfully struck a land-based target in what was the
maiden test of its kind.
As reported by TASS, the top-secret trials took place in mid-November at the Pemboi range
in the north-western Komi Republic.
According to the reports, the missile was fired from a Mig 31 supersonic interceptor
aircraft, which NATO calls ‘Foxhound’.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why Russian Mig 31 armed with Kinzhal hypersonic
missile will be a major threat to the U.S & NATO?
Let's get started.
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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.
The Kinzhal was announced along with a host of new weapons which included the Avangard
- a hypersonic boost-glide reentry vehicle, the Poseidon - an autonomous thermonuclear
torpedo, the Sarmat, a new intercontinental-range ballistic missile, and the Burevestnik - a
nuclear-powered cruise missile
During the address, President Putin had released a footage of Kinzhal.
The video showed two pilots preparing for a flight and then running towards a jet carrying
a large missile.
After that, a missile detaching from the airborne plane was shown which was gliding across the
sky, leaving a fiery trail.
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 m/sec or 3,836 mph or 6,174 km/h.
There are currently 3 methods being applied to make hypersonic weapons.
The first is using Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV).
In this method, the system is launched to extremely high altitudes using Ballistic Missile
or an aircraft where it skips across the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
The vehicle then separates from the carrier and glides back to the earth towards its intended
target attaining hypersonic speed.
The second is using a Scramjet engine.
The scramjet is an innovation on the Ramjet.
Ramjet engine can power flight to supersonic speeds but scramjet can enable the missiles
to reach hypersonic speeds.
These engines have no moving parts, like the compressors and turbines used in the turbofan
engines found on conventional jet planes.
They rely on the huge pressures created by fast airflow into the engine to ignite the
fuel and generate thrust.
In this method, a rocket booster is used to accelerate the missile to hypersonic speed,
then the scramjet engine kicks in and enables the missile to fly at sustained hypersonic
speed.
The third is through the use of Air-Launched Ballistic missile (ALBM).
As the name suggests, this kind of missile is ballistic in nature but is launched from
air, unlike traditional ballistic missiles which are launched from land or sea-based
platforms.
Kinzhal uses this methodology.
It must be noted that traditional ballistic like American Minuteman III, Russian Satan
or Indian Agni ballistic missile all travel at hypersonic speeds, but they follow a predictable
ballistic trajectory and can’t maneuver mid-course.
The Kinzhal goes ballistic seconds after it has been launched from an aircraft, unlike
cruise missiles.
It reportedly has a top speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
The missile has a range of approximately 2000 km or 1,250 miles when launched from MiG-31
but can reach 3000 km or around 1865 miles when fired from Tu-22M3
It is thought to be a variant of the ground-launched Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile.
The Iskander is reportedly capable of reaching speeds of up Mach 5.9 in its terminal phase
and is thought to have a range of about 500 km or 310 miles.
Kinzhal's first stage is probably shared with Iskander and the guidance section is specifically
designed for this missile.
According to the Russian president, units in the country’s Southern Military District,
which borders Ukraine and the Black Sea, have deployed the missiles operationally.
Kinzhal is also reported 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 thought to be powered by a solid-propellant rocket.
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”.
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 afterburning 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.
Earlier Dmitry Rogozin, the deputy prime minister, said on Facebook that works had been carried
out to modernize the “unique” MiG-31 that will carry the Kinzhal missile.
The reported 1,860-mile or 3000 km unrefueled range of the MiG-31 supersonic interceptor,
gives the Kinzhal potentially intercontinental strike capability.
The choice of the aging MiG-31, that 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.
As per some unconfirmed reports by the end of 2018, the Russian Air Force has formed
an Aviation Squadron with 10-12 MiG-31BMs especially modified for carrying the Kinzhal
missile in one of its Fighter Regiments.
Total US military expenditure is over one-third of world military expenditure and it is more
than 10 times that of Russia’s spendings.
Russian cannot possibly compete with the US platform by platform, weapon by weapon.
For example, the US has more than 10 aircraft carriers whereas Russia has only one & that
too is in very bad shape.
In this situation, Russia is developing Asymmetric weapons to counter the U.S.
Kinzhal is part of that effort.
The missile is designed to target US and NATO warships posing a threat to strategic missile
systems in Russia’s European part and to destroy NATO missile defense system and ballistic
missile defense ships and land objects close to Russian borders, such as one in Romania.
It is designed to overcome any known or planned US air or missile defense systems including
MIM-104 Patriot, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Aegis Combat System
Kinzhal armed with conventional warheads could potentially be used to take out multi-billion-dollar
aircraft carriers or destroyers.
When armed with a nuclear warhead, it can theoretically, decimate a US Carrier Strike
Group.
As per Russian claims, Kinzhal is capable of making rapid course corrections or otherwise
flying erratically.
This coupled with the weapon’s speed could make it very difficult for the existing air
defense system to track and interceptor it.
The combination of Kinzhal & Mig 31 will surely be a challenge since the missile carried by
the fast aircraft could be launched from unpredictable locations and it's target envelope will be
very large.