Russian hypersonic missile ‘Kinzhal’ took a mere 10 minutes from its launch 1000 kms away to reach and destroy a Ukrainian underground storage facility for air-launched weapons and Tochka-U surface-to-surface missiles.
The storage facilities were located in the village of Delyatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the Russian MoD Spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov said.
Briefing journalists regarding the first ever use of the hypersonic missile in battle on March 18, Konashenkov said, “I want to draw attention to the fact that the use of the hypersonic aeroballistic missile, Kinzhal was carried out from a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. The flight time of the hypersonic missile was less than 10 minutes.”
In recent days, the Ukrainian armed forces have used the Tochka-U surface-to-surface missiles to strike at Russian tanks and armored columns with deadly effect.
According to Konashenko, the warhead of the Kinzhal missile destroyed a protected underground arsenal built specifically to store special ammunition and missiles, due to hypersonic speed and ultra-high kinetic energy of the missile.
Referring to another Kinzal attack, he said “The destruction of a large fuel depot in the village of Konstantinovka by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile was due to its invisibility and invulnerability to any means of air and missile defense of the enemy.”
More Kinzal attack to come
Sounding ominous, Konshenko said, that the use of the Kinzal missile against military facilities of Ukraine as part of the special operation will continue.
This indicates that Russia has built up stockpiles of the Kinzal missile and will continue to use it against Ukrainian strategtic targets.
While Konashenko did not specify how the missile was launched, currently, only the MiG-31 high altitude fighter jet has been modified to carry the Kinzal missile which it launches from an altitude of 20000-25000 meters.
The Kinzhal missile has been developed by the Tactical Missiles Corporation of Russia
