What are hypersonic missiles and why did Russia use them in the Ukraine war?

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What are hypersonic missiles and why did Russia use them in the Ukraine war?


The Russian military claims to have fired hypersonic missiles twice in its invasion of Ukraine. The attack succeeded in destroying the weapons depot which had been carried out for a month.

On Saturday (19/3/2022), the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have attacked an underground missile and ammunition depot in a village bordering Romania. And on Sunday (20/3/2022), they destroyed a fuel depot near the southern city of Mykolaiv.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed the attack used a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, or its newest "dagger", in Ukraine.

"The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region," Konashenkov claimed as quoted by Yahoo News.


RIA Novosti, Russia's state news agency, said the attack was the first time a next-generation weapon was used since Russian troops were deployed to Ukraine on February 24.

However, on March 9, the Ukrainian National Guard shared images of an unexploded hypersonic missile in the breakaway city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. Reports do not verify whether it was a "dagger" missile.

Ideal weapon
The advanced missile, previously described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as an "ideal weapon," was one of several new weapons he unveiled in his State of the Union address in 2018.

During the speech, Putin boasted that the missile could hit almost any point around the world and evade the United States' missile defense shield.


It is believed that Russia first used hypersonic weapons in support of Bashar Assad during the Syrian civil war in 2016, although it has not been confirmed whether it was the exact Kinzhal model.

The missile, which is designed to be launched from a MiG fighter jet, can fly at 10 times the speed of sound, and unlike other missiles, can change direction during its flight, making it impossible for air defense systems to shoot it down.

Kinzhal missiles can also be used to deliver nuclear weapons.

For comparison, if the US Tomahawk cruise missile can travel as fast as 550 mph, the Kinzhal can travel at 7,672 mph.
The French Navy and British Royal Navy have since 2011 been jointly developing their own hypersonic missile, which is expected to be completed by 2030.

Ukrainian officials have confirmed Russian strikes over the weekend but said the type of missile used was not confirmed.

Why does Russia use hypersonic missiles?
According to Al Jazeera, the successful use of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile means Russia is the first country to use it in combat.

However, one question arose. Why would Russia use such an expensive weapon when traditional ballistic missiles can do the job easily with less risk of failure?


Conflict is used as a testing ground for new weapons under realistic conditions. In a normal trial test, the test result data is only known based on estimates. However, in battle, there is only success or failure.

It is this kind of testing that is invaluable because successes can be capitalized on and failures can be corrected quickly.



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