Russia’s First Use of a Hypersonic Missile in Ukraine, 3818

Good morning, I’m still reporting on the coup.
According to the New York Times, yesterday, Russia fired it’s first hypersonic missile in anger. The target was a Ukrainian underground ammunition storage facility deep in western Ukraine.

The NYT said the announcement was made by a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. General Igor Konashenkov. He said a Russian hypersonic missile launched from a Russian Frigate patrolling in the Black Sea had made the kill.

Details on the strike are scant. The U.S. Pentagon has not made a statement on the attack, however Russia has fired over 1,080 missiles on Ukrainian targets since the war began on Feb. 24th, and is said to be running low.

Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for Uklaine’s military confirmed that Russian forces hit the underground warehouse, but said the type of missile involved is yet to be determined.

Russian military sources claim that the air-launched version of the missile can reach speeds of Mach 10 – that’s 7,672 miles per hour – with a range of up to 1,700 miles.

The Kremlin has bragged that the Kinzhal is unstoppable and can carry nukes. Speaking at an energy forum in Moscow last year, Putin labeled the missile as intercontinental and said it can travel five times faster than those under development by the U.S. military.

“Weapons with a speed of Mach 3 or more are being developed in the United States. Our systems fly at a speed of over Mach 20."

Dr. James Bosbotinis, a UK-based specialist in military matters told defense contractor “Partyardmilitary” that Russia’s hypersonic missiles:

“… can also overcome the defenses of heavily-defended targets (such as an aircraft carrier).”

We reached out to Partyardmilitary for comment. They said they would get back to us shortly by email, but none was received by our deadline.

In a 2019 interview, Dr. Bosbotinis stated:

“The development and deployment of hypersonic weapon systems will provide states with significantly enhanced strike capabilities and potentially, the means to coerce.

"This will be particularly the case where a major regional power, such as Russia, may seek to coerce a neighbor, leveraging the threat of hypersonic strikes against critical targets.”

Hypersonic weapons in the hands of a territory-hungry dictator are completely destabilizing. China recently launched a long-ranged version last October that was able to circle the globe without being detected. The feat purportedly caught American intelligence agencies by surprise. As one anonymous U.S. official told the Financial Times”

“We have no idea how they did this.”

North Korea claims to have it’s own hypersonic missile program under development.

Apparently, the sea-based version of Russia’s hypersonic missile program is called the Zircon. It is a low flying cruise missile, but with hypersonic speed and with stealth features as well. According to a Russian television network, TV Zvezda:

“The speed of the Zircon hypersonic missile is so high that it prevents the opponent’s air defense system from detecting its impact in time…. [the missile’s] launch will be known only after the target has been hit.”

In December, Putin said:

“Zircon is our newest missile fired from the sea at sea targets, and land targets. This is a big event for our country, a significant step in improving Russia’s security, in increasing [our] defensive capability.”

I’m still reporting from just outside the citadel of world freedom, good day.