The United States is very confident in the accuracy of Ukraine’s claim that it used the American Patriot air defense system to intercept a Russian hypersonic missile, according to a source familiar with the matter.

We will remind, on Friday Defense Express wrote that Ukrainian anti-aircraft equipment shot down a Kinjal hypersonic missile launched by the Russians at a target in Kyiv on Thursday.

Experts in the field have said that published images of debris falling in Kyiv belong to a Russian hypersonic missile.

Purely theoretical potential

While the Patriot system is successful against ballistic missiles, its ability to stop air-launched hypersonic missiles was purely theoretical until last week, CNN reported.

According to the source, the Ukrainian intercept demonstrated this capability in the real world — something the Pentagon viewed as a serious development.

Joy for the Pentagon, question marks for Putin

Ukraine’s lawsuit late last week caused a stir at the Pentagon, the source added, noting that it was significant for several reasons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly assessed the capabilities of Russian hypersonic weapons and presented them as capable of overcoming all existing air defense systems.

Producing hypersonic ballistic missiles has always been a challenge for Russia, and sanctions have only made it more difficult.

But until last week, Russia’s calculations were that if it were to use a hypersonic ballistic missile, whatever it was targeting would probably be hit, the source said. This intercept called that calculation into question, she continued.

The fact that the intercept was carried out by a Ukrainian aircrew trained in Oklahoma but without American advisers on the battlefield is an even greater surprise to the Pentagon, the source added, calling it a breakthrough major investment.

The intercept is also likely to have caused serious uncertainty for Russia, raising questions about whether Ukraine has a reliable means of countering hypersonic ballistic missiles, the source added.

Kinjal missile during exercises in February 2022 Photo: Profimedia

From rejection to acceptance

The Air Force of Ukraine admitted on Saturday that it had shot down a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile using the Patriot system on Thursday morning.

The confirmation came after BBC spokesman Yuriy Ignat sharply rejected press reports on the subject on Friday: “I have told you a thousand times that this is not true (…) No missiles were registered. ballistic”.

However, on Saturday, the Telegram account of the BBC admitted that the information was true: “Congratulations to the Ukrainian people on a historic event! Yes, I shot the “incomparable” Kinzhal (Russian Kinzhal)!”

“It happened during the night shelling on May 4 in the sky of the Kyiv region. The Kh-47 missile was launched from Russian territory by a MiG-31K,” the source said, also referring to “information that the enemy can use” — a possible explanation for the previous official position.

They probably didn’t want the Russians to find out about the downing of the Kinjal missile.

“Once again, we emphasize that the military leadership decided not to make public information about the downing of the X-47 Kinjal missile by the Patriot system. The reasons are quite clear. Everything has its time! Thanks for understanding! Together to victory!”, the BBC added.

However, officials in Kyiv denied the information on Friday, and a Ukrainian journalist This was stated by Oleksiy Yarmolenko The BBC did not want to publicize the success, so that the Russians would not find out about it.

Perhaps the Ukrainian military leadership wanted to hide the information – otherwise this is a really important achievement – so that the Russians knew as little as possible about the anti-aircraft capabilities and location of the Patriot system with interceptors PAC-3 type received from the Americans.

This achievement is all the more impressive as the Russians claim the X47M2 Kinjal is an “unstoppable” missile, and Vladimir Putin has even declared it an “invincible” weapon.

What are hypersonic missiles?

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that he is investing in hypersonic missiles and that they are “invincible”, but what are they really?

Moscow claims that these missiles fly at extremely high speeds – Mach 10 or 12,000 km per hour – and that, combined with maneuverability, is extremely difficult or impossible to intercept. However, some Western military experts believe that Russia may be exaggerating the capabilities of its hypersonic air-to-ground weapons.

“A hypersonic missile has greater penetration and destructive power due to its very high speed,” military analyst Vasyl Kacine explains.

The statistics are impressive: according to Russian officials, the Kinjal is capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 2,000 km.

Last December, President Putin boasted that Russia leads the world in hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to track because they can change direction in flight.

Different classes of Russian supersonic weapons

Kinjal rocket (dagger)

First successfully tested in 2018, the Kinjal hit all of its targets during tests at a range of 1,000 to 2,000 km, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. But this range can be extended, as they are conducted from aircraft, especially the MiG-31.

Rocket Avangard

Russia’s Avangard hypersonic cruise missiles are capable of changing direction and altitude at very high speeds, making them “virtually invincible,” according to Putin, who compared the scientific and military progress in their development “to the creation of the first artificial Earth satellite.” , the famous Satellite.

Successfully tested in December 2018, they reached Mach 27 — or 27 times the speed of sound — and hit a target about 6,000 km away, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. They were commissioned in December 2019. Avangard hypersonic gliders are capable of carrying a nuclear payload.

Zircon rockets

Zircon hypersonic missiles are launched from a surface ship or submarine. The first official test launch took place in October 2020, and it flies at a speed of Mach 9 to engage targets on land or at sea.

At the end of December 2021, Vladimir Putin announced the first successful trial test of the Zircon missile.

Other tests have been held since October 2020 in the Russian Arctic, in particular from the Admiral Gorchkov frigate and a submarine.