Sputnik International By Ilya Tsukanov
Russiaâs Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile made the news this week after destroying a Patriot radar station and five launchers in overnight strikes in Kiev on May 16. How did the Kinzhal get through? What other countries possess ultrafast missiles? Why is it that speed isnât always everything? Check out our explainer to find out.
According to independent US media, the Patriots fired off as many as 32 interceptor missiles at the Kinzhals targeting them in a desperate attempt to intercept them. The Pentagon went into damage control, mindful that admitting the missile defense systemâs weaknesses against Russian missiles would undermine global faith in the superiority of US weapons. Patriot missile maker Raytheon saw up to $10 billion shaved from its stock valuation over the news that its coveted weapons system had been hit.
US officials claimed the systems were âdamaged,â but assured that they had not been destroyed. Ukraineâs military, meanwhile, claimed that it shot down six Kinzhals without losing any Patriots. The Russian military offered no comment.
But what else does Russia have in its missile arsenal?
What is the Fastest Russian Missile?
The Kinzhal is one of the speediest and most advanced missile systems in Russia’s arsenal, but not the only one. The weapon is an air-launched hypersonic missile with a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 km, and a reported speed of Mach 10 (11,925km per hour) or even higher. The Patriotâs interceptors are significantly slower, capable of accelerating to Mach 2.8 (3,340 km/h) in the case of the PAC-1, and Mach 4.1 (5,000 km/h) in the case of its PAC-2 and PAC-3 variants…
Putin’s Kinzhal Mack 10 makes a mockery of Biden’s Patriot Mack 4. Meanwhile Biden with his amazing speed on and off the podium, feeling his way around, stumbling, mumbling, fumbling, stammering hammering out executive orders and directives, all power grabs, dabbling in increasing national debt and inflation, doing absolutely nothing to refurbish missiles. Biden can not be matched by Putin in this respect. Better call off war, they win, we lose, or is losing winning?