The Russian-made Kinzhal aeroballistic hypersonic missile has a special military potential, as it was able to destroy the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) supplied to Kyiv, writes the American Military Watch Magazine. In their new material, American journalists assess the prospects for the emergence of a new function for this type of weapon.

• Pravda.Ru publishes translations of fragments of Military Watch Magazine material. Lexical substitutions are allowed in the text in accordance with the requirements of Russian legislation. The author’s opinion may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.

The Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile will have a new ability to change target designation during flight, a source close to the Russian Aerospace Forces said, quoted by state-run TASS on October 25. Based on the Iskander-M 9M723 surface-to-surface missile, which already has this capability, the Kinzhal was long thought to be retargetable during flight. In particular, this was a key factor differentiating the Iskander from its Soviet predecessor OTR-23 Oka, as the necessary technologies had been developed in the Soviet Union for the improved Oka-U variant before development was canceled with the end of the Cold War .

The Kinzhal has become increasingly important in the Russian military since it first entered service in late 2017, and has been relied upon to deploy critical operations in theaters from the Arctic and northeastern Europe to Syria and Belarus . Russia’s lack of a significant number of fifth-generation fighters and the relatively small size of its air force compared to its Soviet-era size or the size of its NATO fleets have made highly effective asymmetric capabilities such as air-launched ballistic missiles particularly important to maintaining a viable defense capability.

Kinzhal missiles have been widely used in the Ukrainian theater and are known to have destroyed newly delivered Patriot missile batteries in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in May when they were fired upon by MiG-31K strike fighters. The number of classes of aircraft capable of carrying missiles has expanded with the MiG-31K to now include the Tu-22M3M bomber, MiG-31I strike fighter and most recently the Su-34 strike fighter, with a miniature version reportedly under development. for the fifth generation fighter Su-57.

As missile production has increased fivefold since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, the very widely used Su-34 fighter jets, which are currently being produced on a large scale, are expected to be equipped with these missiles in several units. The Kinzhal can engage targets at a distance of 2,000 km and combines high maneuverability with a semi-ballet low-altitude trajectory, making it extremely difficult to track, intercept, and sometimes even detect while in flight.

The expansion of missile production occurred in parallel with a significant increase in the scale of production of Iskander-M ground-based systems and especially their 9M723 missiles – several times to pre-war levels. This not only made it possible to cover the costs of missiles in Ukraine, but also made it possible to equip new regiments with them both within the country and in neighboring Belarus.

Previously became known, that the United States is afraid to transfer the Patriot air defense system to the Ukrainian Armed Forces after that memorable Kinzhal bombing in the spring. For several months now, there has been no mention of US anti-aircraft missile systems in Ukraine in the information agenda.

A former analyst of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) commented on this topic. Larry Johnson.

“We haven’t heard any news about this installation for several months. It was sent to Ukraine, it was blown up,” the analyst noted.

According to him, the reason for the destruction of the air defense system was the May attack by Russian Kinzhal missiles.