Ukrainian troops reportedly shoot down a Russian hypersonic ballistic missile using a Western-made air defense system.
According to Defense Express, Ukraine’s Armed Forces successfully intercepted a Russian Kinzhal (Kh-47) hypersonic missile at around 02:40 a.m. on May 4 over Kyiv.
Ukrainian Air Defense unit has detected, tracked and defeated hypersonic missiles in the final phases of flight.
The Defense Express article provides photos of wreckage that’s purported to be part of the KKinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile. Based on the photos, the wreckage without a warhead fell at a stadium in the Kyiv city limits. One of the photos shows a nosecone that is most similar to the one used in the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile with a complex shape of sharp diameter transitions.
Also, the nosecone of the downed missile, as seen in the photo, differs from the Iskander ballistic missile, which is “thicker.”
The wreckage shows that it was hit with a PAC3 interceptor missile, which allows us to estimate the thickness of the material needed to withstand the high temperature during acceleration to hypersonic speeds. It also indicates that the PAC3 intercept was quite effective, with the warhead destroyed in midair.
This is the reason for the powerful explosion heard by Kyiv residents on the night of May 4.
The Russian military says the Kinzhal has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers and flies at 7 times the speed of sound, making it difficult to intercept. Russia has used the weapon to strike several targets in Ukraine.
Kremlin claimed that its fighter jet-launched Kinzhal missile system is “unstoppable” by current Western weapons turned out to be another Kremlin propaganda.
Ukrainian PAC3 Missile
On April 20, American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country’s defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.
The U.S. agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.
“Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.
The missiles are the latest contribution from Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for an expected counteroffensive.
Reznikov thanked the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many missile systems had been delivered or when they arrived.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the systems would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.
Germany’s federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the month to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers Wednesday in Berlin.
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