The news that Russia has for the first time in history used powerful and powerful weapons to fight against the supersonic missiles to hit Ukrainian military positions and factories in the west of the country. The announcement was made by Russia's defense ministry and broadcast via the state-run RIA Novosti agency, with Reuters noting that it was impossible to independently verify the specific information.
But how do supersonic missiles work, which countries have already started building them and why does Russian President Vladimir Putin consider them to be the «ideal weapon»?;
What are supersonic missiles
RUSSIA USES #hypersonicmissile IN UKRAINE FOR THE FIRST TIME#Russia used the Kh-47M2 #Kinzhal (Dagger) N-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-ground missile to destroy a large weapons depot in #Ukraine️‘s western Ivano-Frankivsk region. #UkraineWar #UkraineConflict pic.twitter.com/WYAvqj3EQh
- Andy (@FightTheBigots) March 19, 2022
These missiles are called Kh-47M2 Kinzhal and are the latest in warfare technology. Launched from military aircraft, they have a range of 1,250 miles, and what frightens everyone is the speed they develop in the air and before they hit the enemy target. In particular, it is estimated that they can reach speeds 10 times greater than the speed of the speed of sound, and most impressively, they are built to manoeuvre in flight, making it difficult for opposing air defence systems to track and intercept them.
Supersonic missiles, which the US and China also have in their arsenals, can carry conventional warheads at higher speeds and with greater accuracy, and can also be used to carry nuclear weapons. Some videos of their testing by the Russian armed forces are even circulating on the internet. In one of them, published in March 2018, the speed that these missiles can develop is clearly shown, which is as if they are lost in the air.
What the use of these weapons signifies
According to the Russian state agency RIA Novosti, the missiles destroyed a fuel depot near the town of Mikolayiv in the south of Ukraine and an underground storage area for missiles and ammunition in the west of the country. As war analysts explain, this is the first time that supersonic missiles are used in real combat.
The reasons why Vladimir Putin and the Russian government decided to unlock them now remain unknown. Many scientists and experts on defence strategy issues wrote their opinion on social media. Among them was the Belgian Joseph Henrotin, who noted on Twitter that there are two scenarios: firstly, Russia has run out of shorter-range missiles, or secondly, it wants to show the whole planet the power it has in its hands and does not hesitate to use it.
It is worth noting that Russia remains to date the country with the most nuclear weapons on the planet (4,497 warheads), with the US and China following. At the same time, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called for the Israel, during an online conference with members of the Israeli parliament, to sell to Ukraine the missile defence system Iron Dome, which is an anti-missile umbrella with drones that successfully intercept Hamas rockets.
«Everyone is aware that your missile defense systems are the best in the world and you can certainly help us by saving the lives of Ukrainians, Ukrainian Jews.».
