[RUS] Is there a MD system that can stop the “Kinzhal”?

The intercepted Patriots VS the unstoppable Kinzal

The Ukrainian military says it intercepted a Kinzhal over Kiev using a U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile. (May 4, 2023)
The Kinzhal is a hypersonic cruise missile launched from a fighter jet.

It’s a next-generation weapon that flies at more than five times the speed of sound. So It’s difficult to detect and intercept.
If it’s true that Kinzhal was intercepted, it’s a very bad sign for Russia.

[Fig. 1] Missile intercepted over Kiev (Reuters)

The U.S. Department of Defense also confirmed at the time that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian missile using the Patriot air defense system.

Conflicting claims from the Russian Defense Ministry

On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on May 11 that “intercepting the Kinzhal is impossible”.

The Russian claimed that “high-precision strikes using the Kinzhal destroyed the US-made Patriot air defense system in Kiev.” The Russian claim is that the Kinzhal’s top speed exceeds the maximum combat capabilities of the air defense systems provided to Ukraine by the West, including the Patriot.

[Fig. 2] Kinzhal mounted on a MiG-31BM (Wikipidea)

Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal in his 2018 State of the Union address.
“It is one of the six invincible weapons that Russia possesses,” he said.

At the time, Putin released a computer-generated image of a Kinzhal with a nuclear warhead falling into the US state of Florida.

The United States approved the delivery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine in December 2022. “It’s a pretty old system, and it will be subject to destruction by Russian missiles” Putin Said, referring to the Patriot.

How powerful is Kinzal?

The Kinzhal does not fly in a predetermined arc like a ballistic missile.
But it can change course while flying at speeds of more than 10 times the speed of sound at an altitude of 20 kilometers, much lower than a ballistic missile.

As a result, defenders have no way of knowing what the missile’s final strike target will be.
It has a range of 2,000 kilometers and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads.
The Kinzhal is reportedly a Russian adaptation of the Iskander, which was developed as a ground-launched missile and can be launched from the air.