RUSSIAN officials are claiming to have deployed hypersonic missiles against Ukraine as the nation continues to resist the invasion.
The ballistics travel up to 12 times the speed of sound and have a range of almost 2,000 miles.
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“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition” a Russian defense ministry spokesperson said.
“Hypersonic” means that the missile is traveling at speeds over Mach 5 – objects traveling at this pace operate under rules of physics that make them extremely dangerous.
How do hypersonic missiles work?
“Kinzhal” – Russian for dagger – is an apt name for these missiles, which can decimate warships and carriers.
Reporting by LiveScience wrote that the missiles reach up to 3,000 miles per hour – at this speed, they are nearly impossible to detect and neutralize from a defensive position.
The Kinzhal missile can be loaded with up to 1,000 pounds of explosives, or even a nuclear warhead.
But their speed – their kinetic energy – is enough to blast fatal holes in even the most reinforced warships.
The Diplomat wrote that some have dubbed hypersonic missiles as the “carrier killer”.
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A hypersonic missile could theoretically be attached to a vehicle that could briefly leave Earth’s atmosphere before reentering and attacking a target.
This would even further reduce the ability of targeted nations to react – but, as of now, hypersonic missiles glide through the atmosphere.
Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles can change their trajectory and reroute themselves if necessary.
This makes them more evasive, more threatening and more deadly.
The United States does not currently have hypersonic missiles at its disposal, and Russia’s breakthrough could make for a shift in global military dynamics.
A Congressional brief cited an expert that said the US will not have anti-hypersonic missile technology until the mid-2020s.
But, the United States Department of Defense has not validated Russia’s claim to have the war-altering technology.
“We’re not able to refute it, but we can’t independently confirm it either. It’s not entirely clear. What we would assess is it’s certainly possible,” a US official said to a press pool.
The Hill reported that the Department of Defense is stumped by the choice of target – a nearby warehouse is not a pragmatic use of a hypersonic missile, with their long range and massive destructive capabilities.
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