Can't America defend itself against Russia's Kinzhal missile?
Senior US military officials are concerned about reports that Russian MiG-31 attack aircraft equipped with Kinzhal missiles have begun taking combat duty, according to the Military Watch portal.
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| A Russian Aerospace Forces Mig-31 aircraft carrying a missile. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defence |
Several senior Pentagon military officials have noted that the US is not protected against Russian hypersonic weapons. For example, the US military cannot defend against weapons that develop speeds greater than Mach 3, while Russia's latest missiles can reach Mach 5, Mach 10 and even Mach 20.
Military generals also noted that the US could not cope even with Soviet subsonic missiles of the SCUD class.
The MiG-31 is optimized to carry heavy missiles, and its high speed makes it a perfect fit for deploying the Kinzhal. The missile is capable of engaging targets at a distance of nearly 2,000 km, beyond the range of potential enemy air defense systems.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov stressed that Kinzhal is invulnerable and has significant combat power.
