IN PHOTO: RUSSIA’S MIG-31 JET ARMED WITH KINZHAL (DAGGER) HYPERSONIC NUCLEAR MISSILE

Monday, 16 April 2018

IN PHOTO: RUSSIA’S MIG-31 JET ARMED WITH KINZHAL (DAGGER) HYPERSONIC NUCLEAR MISSILE

Photo by Alexandr Uhakov (vk.com/chkala_crew)

This Russia’s MiG-31 interceptor fighter armed with a Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic nuclear missile will reportedly particiapte in a military parade on May 9 [Victory Day is a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War].

It is known that Kinzhal’s top speed is in the neighborhood of Mach 10, or over 12,000 km/h, its combat range is about 2000 km, while flight trajectory carries it to altitudes of 50-80km above the Earth’s surface.

At the moment Kinzhal’s carrier is the MiG-31 all-weather interceptor fighter, in the future that role could also be undertaken by the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter.

Aerodynamic control surfaces allow the missile to maneuver throughout its trajectory and thus evade air- and missile-defense zones. It is the ability to maneuver at hypersonic speeds that gives the missile its invulnerability which increases its likelihood of striking the target.

In order to intercept the Kinzhal, the Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile would have to reach the speed of Mach 15, and at the moment there is no such missile in US arsenal. The best the PAC-3 can do is Mach 4.5. Kinzhal can strike not only stationary but also mobile targets, such as warships.

Most information about this missile is currently classified, though it is known it could carry conventional or nuclear payloads.