Ukraine Uses U.S. Patriot System to Take Down Russian Hypersonic Missile

The Ukrainian Air Force announced that an American Patriot missile shot down a Russian KH-47 Kinzhal-type missile, marking the first time Patriot had engaged a Russian aerial target.

Mykola Oleschuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said in a Telegram message that the missile was intercepted earlier this week during an attack against the Ukrainian capital. Oleshchuk said, “Yes, the Kinzhal was shot down. It happened during the night attack on the Kyiv Region on May 4.

Experts point out that although Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the Kinzhal was hypersonic, in reality, it isn’t. It is a modified version of the Iskander missile that was launched from the ground. Only minor modifications were made to accommodate a new launch method, which involves deploying it using an advanced MIG-31.

Sidharth Kaushal Ph.D. of RUSI, the UK-based defense think tank, explained that a missile must be highly maneuverable to meet the HGV or HCM criteria. “Everything I have seen suggests Kinzhal is an air-launched Iskander – a quasi-ballistic rocket.”

It’s still a great achievement that the Patriot can bring down a rocket traveling at least Mach 7

In 2018, Putin said that his military had developed three hypersonic missiles capable of defeating any anti-missile system that the U.S. owned.

Putin stated that the missile, which is flying at hypersonic speeds, or ten times the speed of sound can maneuver in all phases of flight. This also allows the missile to defeat all anti-aircraft, anti-missile, and future systems. It can deliver nuclear and conventional weapons to a distance of more than 2,000 km [1,200 miles].

Ukraine was delighted to show Putin that he is wrong and to give him a good slap on the face.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force in Ukraine, said that Russian weapons were the best in the world. Ihnat stated, “Well, it is confirmed that the system works effectively against a super hypersonic missile.”

He said that intercepting the Kinzhal successfully was “a slap in the face to Russia.”

In a Telegram message posted on Saturday, Valerii Zaluzhnyi (commander-in-chief of Ukraine Armed Forces) thanked U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the continued American assistance to Ukraine.

Zaluzhnyi also said that he briefed Milley on “the situation at the front” and the preparations for Ukraine’s Counteroffensive versus Russia.

Ukraine hasn’t said when they will launch their counteroffensive but it is widely expected that it will be this spring.

Russia’s hypersonic missiles are likely to be limited, just as Ukraine has a finite number of Patriots. Russia’s hypersonic arsenal will be more cautious after the destruction of Kinzhal.