‘Ukraine shoots down Russian hypersonic missile using US Patriot system’
Wreckage of the rocket, known in Russia as the ‘dagger’, falls on an empty football stadium in Kyiv
ByJoe Barnes5 May 2023 • 2:40pm
Ukraine has intercepted a Russian hypersonic missile for the first time, it has been reported.
Local media reports suggested air-defence units operating the highly-advanced,
US-provided Patriot missile system could have been responsible for the unprecedented feat.
Images purportedly showing the fragments of a downed Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile, which Russia
claims can fly at 10 times the speed of sound, were published by the Ukrainian Defence Express outlet.
The wreckage of the missile, known in Russia as the “dagger”, fell on an empty football stadium in Kyiv after a loud explosion was reported in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The bang coincided with a long-range Russian barrage
using Iranian-made drones and less sophisticated missiles targeting the Ukrainian capital, according to local administrators, who did not confirm the use of a hypersonic missile.
Pictures of the remains appeared to show a hole in the top of the weapon’s pointed shell, reportedly created by a precision munition, while the rocket was still mid-air.
A hole in the top of the weapon’s pointed shell can been seen
The Defence Express outlet claimed it had “obviously” been intercepted by a newly-acquired Patriot missile system.
A soldier from the Ukrainian air-defence team responsible for the interception confirmed the Kinzhal had been destroyed by the US-donated system, in a tweet that has since been deleted.
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The unit reportedly detected, tracked and downed the missile in its final stages of flight, when it starts to slow down.
Officials from Ukraine’s Air Force refused to comment on the claims.
PATRIOT MISSILE DEFENCE SYSTEM
Before the apparent interception there were no known successful attempts in taking out the hypersonic weapon, which had been dubbed “unstoppable” by the Kremlin.
Russian forces first used the Kinzhal in combat in Ukraine on March 29 last year, when the missile was used to strike a fuel depot.
The missile, which is fired from specially adapted Mig-31 jet fighters, has a claimed range of up 1,900 miles.
According to Russian claims, the missile cannot be downed by any of the West’s most advanced air-defence systems
Until the delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine, Kyiv’s armed forces said they had no way of intercepting the hypersonic rocket.
Source- The telegraph.
tbh, That is huge if it is true. Even though Kinzal is not as manuaverable as HGV, still its depressed trajectory and moderate manuaverablity coupled with its hypersonic speed makes it difficult to shoot down with convenional ABM systems.
Also it speaks for the fact that, how good actually PAC-3 decade old radar is.
(I think lot of people these days makes fuss about PESA and AESA classifications without totally understanding their actual implications on operational level)
And the best operational advantage of this PAC-3 battery for Ukraine in my opinion is, it will allow them for full scale permanent operational activities in airbases within protective baubles without their high value Air assets being at high risk of taken out on the ground by Russian balistic missile strikes.
@Gary @UkroTurk