March 18, 2022 may go down in the history of the war: the Russian authorities claim to have fired a hypersonic missile in western Ukraine that day, which would be a world first. On Sunday March 20, they did it again, declaring that they had fired again with this type of device, in the south of the country this time. Difficult to intercept and with a greater penetration force than conventional missiles, this equipment is now at the heart of the arms race.
► What does Moscow say?
“On March 18, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. the Kinjal aeronautical complex with its hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse of missiles and ammunition of the Ukrainian army aviation in the locality of Delyatin, Ivano-Frankivsk region. »
Never, until now, neither in Ukraine nor in Syria, has Moscow said it had used a Kinjal (“dagger” in Russian) missile, tested since 2018. On March 20, the authorities announced a new hypersonic strike. “A large reserve of fuel was destroyed by Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the Caspian Sea, as well as hypersonic ballistic missiles fired by the Kinjal aeronautical system from the airspace of Crimea”said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
This second series of shootings, the date of which has not been specified, took place in the South, in the Mykolaiv region. According to Moscow, the destroyed target was “the main source of fuel for Ukrainian armored vehicles” deployed in the region.
► What are the particularities of these hypersonic missiles?
Capable of flying at a speed of Mach 5, ie five times the speed of light (6,100 km/h), these new type machines have at least three “advantages” compared to conventional missiles.
→ INVESTIGATION. In Ukraine, experts and investigators on the trail of war crimes
First, speed. They can go up to Mach 10, which makes them more difficult to intercept and more dangerous – their penetration force is all the higher. Their skill, then. Unlike conventional missiles, they can “maneuver”, which makes their trajectory difficult to read. Their discretion, finally. Flying at low altitude, they are detected later by certain radars.
The Kinjal missile, very maneuverable, is thus supposed to challenge anti-aircraft defense systems. Successfully tested in 2018, during trials they hit all their targets at a distance of up to 1,000 to 2,000 km, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. But this range is multiplied when they are transported by plane, in particular Mig-31.
► What would be the scope of this premiere, if confirmed?
If confirmed, these shots would ratify the lead acquired by Russia on this ground. From the end of the 20th century, Moscow began to develop this type of armament in order to acquire weapons capable of thwarting defense systems such as the American anti-missile shield in Europe. In this register, the Avangard hypersonic glider seems the most advanced: able to carry a nuclear charge, it flies up to 33,000 km/h and changes course or altitude in an unpredictable way, making it almost impossible to intercept.
→ EXPLANATION. War in Ukraine: who are these countries that deliver arms to kyiv?
Russia’s progress in recent years has led other countries to ramp up their hypersonic programs, sparking a new arms race. China took the West by surprise last year with the test of a hypersonic glider that circled the Earth in orbit before descending towards its target.
This Chinese test caused a stir at the Pentagon, where some senior officers mentioned a “Sputnik moment” – in reference to the putting into orbit of a Soviet satellite in 1957, which had shown Washington’s delay in the conquest of space. The United States, which has been working on the hypersonic file for two decades, is working hard to try to catch up.
They are not the only ones: North Korea is also in the running, and many others. According to a Congressional Documentation Services report released Thursday, March 17, “Although the United States, Russia and China have developed the most advanced hypersonic weapons programs, other countries including Australia, India, France, Germany and Japan , are also interested in this technology ».