Various kinds of sophisticated weapons were deployed by Russia in its attack on Ukraine. Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that it had used a hypersonic missile called Kinzhal to destroy underground warehouses containing Ukrainian weapons.
"The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Kinzhal is reportedly about 8 meters long. Some weapons experts believe that this type of missile can fly up to 6,000 kilometers per hour.
Reportedly, this is the first time Russia has used such a missile on the battlefield. So, what are hypersonic missiles really?
Any missile or missile that beats the speed of sound by at least five times or the speed of Mach 5 or more, can be classified as a hypersonic missile.
As quoted by us from Eurasiantimes, Wednesday (6/4/2022) hypersonic missiles can be changed direction even though they have been flown and maneuvered with agility. In addition, this kind of missile is difficult to detect because it is so fast, it is even said to be almost impossible to track by modern radar and air defense systems.
Besides being fast, hypersonic missiles also fly quite low, much lower than conventional ballistic missiles. By the time a hypersonic missile is detected by radar, it is so close to its target that it is too late to intercept it.
The Russian hypersonic missile that struck Ukraine was fired from the air, possibly from a MIG-31 warplane. It can also be launched from a ship or submarine, and can carry a nuclear warhead.