The Russian Aerospace Forces begin to permanently patrol neutral space over the Black Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this at a press conference in Beijing on October 18. The task will be carried out by MiG-31 aircraft, which are equipped with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system with a range of over 1 thousand km. Read more in the Izvestia article.
Why does a MiG with a Kinzhal patrol the Black Sea?
“On my instructions, the Russian Aerospace Forces begin patrolling on a permanent basis in the neutral zone of airspace over the Black Sea. Our MiG-31 aircraft are armed with Kinzhal systems. They are known to have a range of over 1,000 km at a speed of Mach nine,” the Russian leader said at a press conference in China.
He added that this move is not a threat to anyone. Russia strives to monitor the situation in the region, Vladimir Putin emphasized.
The president also mentioned two US aircraft carrier groups that Washington sent to the Mediterranean last week. One is led by the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the second by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Thus, the MiG-31 will look after American aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea, military expert and editor of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Alexey Leonkov explained to MK.
“The waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea are within the reach of our hypersonic missiles,” the expert added.
What is the Kinzhal complex
Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles first entered permanent combat duty in Kaliningrad in August 2022, but they became known from Vladimir Putin’s speech to the Federal Assembly on March 1, 2018. Although the Kinzhal has already taken part in a special military operation, it still remains one of the most closed systems in the arsenal of the Russian army.
The 9-A-7660 “Dagger” complex with a hypersonic missile and a MiG-31 carrier aircraft was developed in the 2000–2010s by the Kolomna Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau together with RSK MiG. It is based on the 9M723 Iskander-M aeroballistic missile, a compact projectile that carries different types of warheads and can be launched at any altitude and at any initial launch speed. As a result, an airborne missile system was created that has no analogues in the world.
The exact performance characteristics of the systems have not been published in the open press. However, it is known that the range of the complex is about 2 thousand km, and the maximum speed of the rocket can reach 10 speeds of sound. At the moment of launch from the MiG-31, the missile already has a flight altitude of about 20 km and a speed of at least 1,500 km/h. Due to these conditions, the Kinzhal ammunition achieves record flight speed and range.
How do Daggers work?
The Dagger flies along an aeroballistic trajectory: in dense layers of the atmosphere it moves using the lifting force of a streamlined body, and in the discharged upper layers it moves in the same way as other ballistic missiles, like a thrown stone. This combination allows for maximum range and unique anti-missile capabilities. The warhead is controlled using both aerodynamic rudders and shunting micromotors. This ensures high accuracy and creates maximum difficulties for the enemy’s defense system, because a missile that maneuvers unpredictably is difficult to shoot down.
The Kinzhal complex can reliably hit any ground and even protected target – the speed of the ammunition at the moment of fall exceeds 1 km/sec.
Most likely, the missiles are equipped with a radar guidance system and can hit not only stationary targets with coordinates known in advance, but also deliver targeted strikes on moving objects such as an aircraft carrier or other ship. Any large radio-contrast target will be found by such a missile, highlighted among others and destroyed with the first hit.
Kinzhal missiles against air defense
On May 17, 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the destruction of a modern American Patriot air defense system in Kyiv by a high-precision Kinzhal strike. The complex’s multifunctional radar and several launchers were hit.
The Patriot air defense system is one of the most advanced Western air defense systems. The radius of destruction of conventional air targets – airplanes, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles – reaches, depending on conditions, 100 km. Patriot can be used against attacking ballistic missiles, but with slightly different parameters for the range and height of destruction of the target – the maximum range and height of destruction of such objects is about 20 km. Taking into account the fact that, for example, at a speed of 1 km per second, a ballistic missile will cover these 20 km in 20 seconds, the Patriot air defense system does not have many attempts to shoot it down – maybe it will have time to fire five ammunition.
Judging by the intensity of anti-aircraft missile launches, the Patriot battery had fired all its ammunition and began reloading the launchers. As soon as it became clear that the air defense system was empty, it was hit with a Kinzhal missile from a MiG-31I carrier located in the holding area.
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