Russia's super missile can't reach America?
The Russian president has revealed their new weapons and made the whole world worried, however the US said it has absolutely no impact on the US.
The Russian Ministry of Defense recently posted a video recording the test launch of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile from a MiG-31 fighter-interceptor aircraft, according to the famous American magazine The National Interest.
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| One of the new Russian weapons mentioned by President Putin in his state-of-the-nation address. |
Parts of the video have been blurred to hide some details and features of the new weapon, but overall the “Kinzhal” looks like an air-to-ground missile.
“The crew of the MiG-31 fighter-interceptor of the Russian Aerospace Forces performed a combat training flight by launching a hypersonic missile from the “Kinzhal” complex, accurately destroying the designated target,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its website.
The MiG-31 performed a flight from an airfield on the territory of the Southern Military District within the framework of a test combat mission. During the launch of a hypersonic missile, the tactical and technical characteristics and time parameters of the Kinzhal high-precision missile system were confirmed.
According to the Defense Ministry, the “Kinzhal” missile is designed to destroy both land and sea targets.
“The perfect combination of MiG-31 and Kinzhal missile will bring out the highest combat effectiveness. Currently Kinzhal is the only one of its kind in the world,” the Ministry of Defense emphasized.
The MiG-31 is an ideal aircraft for launching Kinzhal missiles due to its range, large combat load, altitude and speed. The actual service ceiling of the MiG-31 is about 20,500 m and the maximum speed reaches 2.83 Mach.
What is special is that this aircraft can fly supersonic for a long time. The combat radius of the MiG-31 at a speed of M=2.35 is about 700 km, and they can carry a large payload, for example, the R-73 “air-to-air” missile. Therefore, when replaced by “Kinzhal”, the MiG-31 can destroy targets even faster.
Regarding the stealth feature of this missile is still a mystery. But no one is surprised that this is a weapon with great maneuverability.
However, US Secretary of Defense James Norman Mattis stated that Russia's deployment of the "Kinzhal" missile will not change the military balance between Russia and the United States.
“I have watched and analyzed the video of this new Russian weapon. I think that there is no change in Russia's military potential. Even the weapons systems that Mr. Putin mentioned need to undergo many tests and take place over a long period of time, so the military balance between the two countries is almost unchanged,” Mr. Mattis said.
Mattis expressed hope that the Russian military would understand that this new weapon does not give them significant advantages.
“I want to say that Russia can create new weapons as President Putin said, but it will not change anything, it simply wants to promote their development project,” Mr. Mattis concluded.
