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Related: About this forumRussia Uses Zircon Hypersonic Missile in Ukraine for First Time, Researchers Say
Source: Reuters
Russia Uses Zircon Hypersonic Missile in Ukraine for First Time, Researchers Say
By Reuters
Feb. 12, 2024, at 2:23 p.m.
(Reuters) - A preliminary analysis concluded that Russia hit Kyiv last week with the hypersonic Zircon missile, its first use in the nearly two-year-old war, the head of a Kyiv research institute said on Monday, presenting a new challenge to Ukraine's air defences.
Oleksandr Ruvin, director of the Kyiv Scientific-Research Institute for Forensic Examinations, said on his Telegram channel that his institute completed a preliminary analysis of missile fragments from a Russian attack on Feb. 7.
He included a video of alleged missile wreckage showing specific markings. "In this case, we see elements that are characteristic of the 3M22 Zircon missile. Parts and fragments of the engine and steering mechanisms have specific markings," he wrote.
The Russian defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-02-12/russia-uses-zircon-hypersonic-missile-in-ukraine-for-first-time-researchers-say
ret5hd
(21,240 posts)different thoughts anyone?
(im no tactical expert by any means)
Voltaire2
(14,576 posts)Seems like a logical evolution of military tactics to me. Your opponents defense is effective so you have to adapt.
Part of the rationale behind Russias military invasion of Ukraine was to upgrade their military capabilities by putting their military forces through real combat operations. The initial offensive was a disaster, but also a learning experience.
All the nations with significant military forces are observing the rapid evolution of drone and missile offensive and defensive systems. The Ukraine war is changing the battlefield.
Emrys
(7,779 posts)Since it appears to have hit nothing of military consequence and apparently ended up in bits on a sidewalk, it looks like it was a very expensive dud.
The existence and capabilities of this missile have been the subject of much mystery, myth and debate since Russia first began boasting about it. It's intended as an anti-ship missile. It's primarily ship-launched, which raises the question of where its sea-based platform was. One possibility is that the Russians have developed the ability to convert it to ground-launched. Whatever, both options leave its launchers vulnerable to attack since they're unlikely to set off volleys of such an expensive bit of kit even if they have the stocks (which is highly unlikely given their problems with other homegrown weaponry). Its big selling point is supposed to be that its speed would render it invisible to detection, but it's "hypersonic", if at all, only during the higher stages of its trajectory and not in its terminal phase. Its accuracy is questionable, with one Russian naval officer (now dead from combat) describing it being hypothetically aimed at a tower block, and if it missed that one, no problem, it would hit the one behind it.
We've been through this before with the air-launched Kinzhal, which was similarly hyped until Patriot proved capable of taking it down.
The Unmitigated Gall
(4,378 posts)Traitor-publicans are the metastasis going to bone.