According to the magazine " Air&Cosmos"in the article" Le Kinzhal Devoile”, during his annual address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the existence of several weapons programs in Russia, including the existence of the Kinzhal missile and a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
The Russian President announced that the development of a system from the Kinzhal supersonic airborne system from the MiG-31 carrier aircraft and the Iskander ballistic missile (mounted on the central suspension point) has been completed. The video shown by the president shows a MiG-31 taking off with a rocket, which then separates from the carrier. Then the video shows the trajectory of the missile, which, after separation from the carrier at an altitude of 12 km and a speed of 2M (the exact characteristics were not announced), continues to fly from the stratosphere, then changes course several times to hit targets, which are represented by an American cruiser of the type Ticonderoga and ground targets.
MiG-31 fighter (tail number "93 red") with a missile of the "Dagger" complex (c) frame from the video of the Russian Ministry of Defense
Vladimir Putin said that the speed of the rocket is 10 times the speed of sound, it can maneuver throughout the entire flight and be invulnerable to existing and future missile defense systems. This allows you to hit targets at ranges up to 2000 km.
The Iskander missile was developed at the Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering in Kolomna. The missile has been in service with the Russian Army since 2007. The missile, designed to be placed on the MiG-31, is 8 meters long, comparable to the length of the 9M723 surface-to-surface missile, which is 7.3 meters long. This difference is explained by the presence of an aerodynamic nose, as well as the protection of the nozzle, which is reset after the start of the rocket engine of the aircraft version of the rocket. The mass of the rocket is 4 tons. The Iskander is equipped with various types of guidance systems - radar with correction or optical with correction. Both options were developed at the Moscow TsNIIAG. There is also an option with an active seeker developed by the St. Petersburg company Radar-MMS, which is installed on anti-ship options.
According to Vladimir Putin, on December 1, 2017, the complex began to carry out experimental combat duty from the airfields of the Southern Military District (SMD). And this means that it has not yet been adopted. What was mentioned by the Southern Military District deserves additional explanation. In its composition (where aviation is subordinate to the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Army) there are no units that are armed with the MiG-31. Only the 929th State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense named after V.P. Chkalov in Akhtubinsk has a MiG-31. The board "blue 592", shown in the video, belongs to the RAC MiG. He has been taking part in tests in Zhukovsky and Akhtubinsk for many years. In 1987, he became the first MiG-31 capable of refueling in the air. The video was not dated, so it cannot be ruled out that it was made several years ago.
The Kinzhal system with the Iskander missile is not the only Russian hypersonic weapons program currently under development in Russia. For its part, this work is carried out by the Tactical Missiles Corporation with the GZUR missile (“Product 75”), designed for heavy bombers. At the same time, NPO Mashinostroeniya is developing the 3M22 Zircon missile for submarines and surface ships. The priority of these programs is higher than that of the "Dagger". No one knows why Vladimir Putin chose Kinzhal for his speech. Maybe because it looks more impressive compared to the GZUR and Zircon.
Various sources report that the RAC MiG is working on two new modifications of the MiG-31 - “product 06” and “product 08”. Perhaps one of them is the "Dagger". Possibly passes under a different index a new version interceptor, and a completely different purpose, for example, anti-satellite weapons. With its high-altitude cruising speed of Mach 2.5, the MiG-31 is a good platform for a variety of weapon systems that are not standard interceptor weapons.
So, more than 30 years ago, in January 1987, the MiG-31D (“product 07”), which was the carrier of the 79M6 anti-satellite missile, made its first flight. The aircraft and missiles were elements of the 30P6 Kontakt anti-satellite weapon system. Two MiG-31Ds were assembled. In 1991, work on the MiG-31D and its improved version of the MiG-31DM with the 95M6 missile (an upgraded version of the 79M6) was stopped. After the collapse of the USSR, both MiG-31D prototypes remained at the Sary-Shagan training ground in Kazakhstan, that is, in the same place where they were tested.
In 2005, Russia and Kazakhstan announced the existence of the Ishim project, which included the MiG-31I and the Ishim rocket weighing 10.3 tons, which was suspended from a central suspension point. Ishim could launch satellites weighing up to 160 kg into orbit 300 km high. This project was financed from the budget of Kazakhstan and was abandoned due to funding cuts.
Vladimir Putin also announced the presence of other weapons systems, including the Sarmat ICBM, the Avangard missile, the combat laser and, without a doubt, the most amazing program, a mini-nuclear power plant that can be used as a power plant for missiles and torpedoes. At the end of 2017, a cruise missile with a nuclear power plant was successfully launched at the Central Test Site of the Russian Ministry of Defense, located in the Arkhangelsk Region. During the flight, the reactor worked in accordance with the task and gave out the necessary thrust. According to Vladimir Putin, the nuclear power plant gives the missile an unlimited flight range. The video showed the launch of a rocket from a ground-based launcher, after which the animation of the rocket flew over the Atlantic from north to south, and then headed for the United States. A similar compact reactor will also be used on an intercontinental torpedo.
The principle of operation of the reactor, which is designed to heat the air that passes through the combustion chambers located on both sides of the tail of the rocket. Due to a sharp increase in temperature, the necessary thrust is created. The concept of using a nuclear reactor on a rocket is controversial. It is more expensive than a turbojet engine, and at the same time creates serious environmental risks. And the rocket itself, the temperature of the gases at the nozzle of which reaches several thousand degrees, is easily detected. Is it worth the effort to get unlimited range when cruise missiles have a range of 5,000 km?
Vladimir Putin's speech also mentioned two Su-57 fighter jets that arrived in Syria on February 21. Most likely these were copies of the T-50-9 and T-50-11. For reasons still unknown, two days after appearing in Syria, they were sent to Russia. It is likely that the well-known Su-57s did not make the same impression as the unlimited-range missile. Be that as it may, during his speech, Putin mentioned Syria only once in one phrase: "The operation in Syria demonstrated the increased capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces."
The hypersonic weapon announced by Vladimir Putin in his message was declared by many Western critics to be nothing more than computer graphics.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Defense for the first time demonstrated a missile of the Kinzhal precision-guided air-to-air missile system, which, according to experts, encroaches on the vulnerability of such a shrine of American military power as aircraft carriers.
On the night of March 11, the Russian Ministry of Defense for the first time showed the real appearance of the rocket of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system and its launch. The combat training launch of the missile was carried out by a MiG-31 VKS fighter-interceptor, which launched from an airfield in the Southern Military District.
The launch took place in the normal mode, and the hypersonic missile hit its designated target at the training ground. “During the launch of the hypersonic missile, the tactical and technical characteristics and time indicators of the Kinzhal high-precision aviation missile system were confirmed,” the Ministry of Defense noted.
Recall that Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his message to the Federal Assembly on March 1, showed a number of new breakthrough Russian weapons that will allow Russia to ensure maximum defense capability, as well as the possibility of delivering retaliatory strikes in the event of an enemy attack that will overcome any defensive systems and achieve goals. Among those presented were hypersonic weapons, in particular the Kinzhal complex, which had never before been mentioned or demonstrated anywhere.
Putin is not Trump
Putin's newest weapons turned out to be such an ultimatum and unexpected for the whole world that many simply refused to believe in his existence. Leading Western media, experts, politicians and the military were quick to call the new weapon computer graphics drawn specifically for the presidential message.
But in the case of the new video of the Ministry of Defense, such a trick will no longer work. The published recording clearly shows both the appearance of the rocket and its flight at hypersonic speed after being dropped from the carrier.
Military expert Alexei Leonkov believes that this video is aimed, among other things, at demonstrating that the declared weapons really exist, and are not computer graphics.
“Some people think we are fooling them. They just don't understand our system, that when we have supreme commander comes out and speaks, he does not scatter words. So this is the place to be, and no fairy tales, no fantasies, no bluff. This is not Donald Trump saying he has a big red button in his office, bigger than Kim Jong Un. These are two different types of leader,” Leonkov said.
Relationship with Iskander
"Dagger" is a high-precision hypersonic aircraft missile system, which is capable of carrying both a conventional and a nuclear charge. Its main element is a hypersonic aeroballistic missile with a range of over 2,000 km. The maximum speed exceeds the speed of sound by 10 times, which corresponds to 10 Mach numbers (at an altitude of 11 km it is about 10.6 thousand km / h, and at the surface of the Earth - about 12 thousand km / h), and to develop its main engine allows for a few seconds. At the same time, at such a huge speed, the rocket is able to maneuver throughout the entire flight segment.
The missile is designed to destroy both land and sea targets. An all-weather homing head is installed on it, which provides high accuracy, as well as the ability to hit targets at any time of the day and under any climatic conditions.
Such a rocket was demonstrated for the first time. The X-32 cruise missile, which has been in service since 2016 and is designed to destroy ground targets, is a little short of hypersonic speed (Mach 3.5-4.6 instead of the required 5 or more), and also has a range of up to 1,000 km. The Zircon, which is under development, is a sea-based hypersonic missile with a range of only 400 km and a speed slightly lower than that of the Dagger (about Mach 8).
Alexei Leonkov noted that the Kinzhal missile is similar to the 9M723 missile of the Iskander-M complex, which is called quasi-ballistic, and did not rule out that it was it that served as the basis for the new complex.
In addition, even when the Kh-101 missile was being created, the question arose between the two variants of cruise missiles. Long range (over 5 thousand km) and low visibility, but without hypersound, that is, in fact, the Kh-101, or hypersonic with a radius of about 2 thousand km. The choice was made in favor of range and invisibility, perhaps not least because of the high cost and complexity of the hypersonic project. Perhaps it was those developments that formed the basis of the Dagger complex.
The main advantage of the "Dagger" is invulnerability
“The main advantage of the Kinzhal is the ability to hit well-defended targets,” military expert Anton Lavrov told the VZGLYAD newspaper. “The subsonic Kh-101 can be hit by modern air defense systems. And the strikes of the Kinzhal are now irresistible, since their missiles are invulnerable to any modern air defense and missile defense systems," he stressed.
Leonkov explained that the possibility of intercepting a new missile is excluded due to its speed of approach to the target, maneuvering and the ability to choose the most effective angle of attack. “There are two ways to shoot down air targets: on the opposite course and in pursuit. On a collision course, it is difficult to hit such a maneuvering missile. If we talk about modern air defense systems, then their missiles, if they make a mistake on the opposite course, then they fly further in pursuit of the target. But in order to go after the "Dagger", you need your anti-missile not only to maneuver, it must develop a speed of at least Mach 15. And no one in the world has such a thing, ”the expert noted, adding also that the characteristics of the rocket provide an enormous speed of reaction to enemy actions.
The Ministry of Defense, like Putin earlier, noted that new system has no analogues in the world. Most actively creating hypersonic weapons China is engaged in it, investing tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars in it. In particular, it is testing a similar air-to-air missile with a range of just under 500 km, capable of maneuvering in flight. The United States has already recognized the loss of advantage and even the lag in the development of hypersonic weapons from Russia and China. The Pentagon does not currently have a clear program to develop or combat hypersonic missiles, the US media acknowledged, citing an Air Force report. To overcome this backlog, the US military department is asking the country's leadership for $120 million.
Russian "aircraft carrier killer"
For all its advantages, the "Dagger" is a very expensive weapon. Experts believe that it is more expensive than conventional cruise missiles, but not more expensive than nuclear ballistic missiles. Approximately at the level of "Iskander". What tasks can this complex solve?
“This is primarily an anti-ship complex. Its main task is to quickly reach the launch area and launch a rocket to hit the carrier ships. missile weapons, such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the Ticonderoga-class attack cruisers, or even aircraft carriers. Depending on the warhead that will be installed there, a penetrating type or a more powerful nuclear one, the targets may vary,” Leonkov said.
“This is a complex of a really dagger type, which disables an entire ship with one blow. The missile will launch outside the air defense zone, and when it reaches its speed parameters, this zone will no longer matter to it,” the expert added.
According to Leonkov, the Kinzhal complex makes it possible, for example, to disrupt the deployment of fleet forces to strike at our territory. “It is clear that if it is carried out, then at the maximum distance from the zone of application of our coastal defense means, in order to ensure security. Imagine a military commander who deploys a grouping, but it does not have such security, at any moment there may be a blow that will deprive him of important elements of the fleet, and he will not complete the task. Under such conditions, it seems very controversial and difficult to carry out any offensive actions with the help of the Navy,” the source said.
Leonkov did not rule out the use of the "Dagger" for ground targets, because if the issue of aiming at ships is resolved, then he will be able to shoot at the ground. “But you need to understand that this is ammunition strategic purpose and you can't use it anywhere. These should be especially important objects of military infrastructure, for example, missile launch sites, headquarters, command posts, communication points, they can also be used at airfields, naval bases, destroy logistics, railway junctions,” he explained. Anton Lavrov also believes that the "Dagger" is aimed precisely at the fight against aircraft carriers. “That is his greatest asset. It is problematic to repulse massed strikes with cruise strikes against ground targets without hypersound, but the fight against aircraft carrier strike groups is a rather difficult task for us, ”he stressed.
"Dagger" will block the eastern and northern coasts
Despite the fact that no one knew about the Kinzhal, it is not only in development, but even already in the Russian Armed Forces. Since December 1, this complex has been on combat duty in the Southern Military District, Vladimir Putin said. The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Sergei Surovikin, later clarified that the Kinzhal was put on experimental combat duty in one of the aviation formations, now the “basics of it” are being worked out. combat use". In other words, the system has been delivered to the troops, but it is undergoing the last field tests.
“Usually, such tests go on for a year. Depends on the test program that is delivered. If we talk about deployment, then we have the MiG-31, after modernization, when they received the letters “BM”, they were converted, including for carriers of such missiles,” Leonkov noted. “If we take the airfields based on the MiG-31, then they are in the directions where there is the greatest fear of a sudden strike: western, eastern, southern. The specifics of work on offshore facilities can move them closer to our maritime borders, so that the take-off and strike time is as short as possible,” he said.
In turn, Lavrov believes that after a full-scale introduction into the troops, the "Dagger" will first of all block the eastern and northern coasts. It is there that work on naval targets is most important, new complex will be most effective.
Experts agreed that it is unlikely that this missile will be sent for testing to Syria, since this simply does not make sense - there will be no difference with the test site. The missile is not cheap, there are simply no such objects in Syria that would be worth destroying with it, except to demonstrate the real existence of the missile, they noted.
The plane from the creator of "Buran"
Both the president and the military department noted that the missile carrier, a modernized version of the MiG-31 aircraft, is part of the complex. Why was this aircraft chosen?
The MiG-31 is a two-seat supersonic all-weather fighter-interceptor. It was the first fourth-generation Soviet combat aircraft. It has been in service since 1981, its modernization began in the 2000s, its first stage was completed in 2008. The aircraft is capable of performing tasks at various altitudes - from extremely low to high (its practical ceiling is 20 km), and its range is 1.5 thousand km or 3 thousand with two external fuel tanks (it grows even with in-flight refueling up to 5 thousand km).
“The MiG-31 allows you to accelerate this missile to the speeds necessary for launch. Most likely, in order for the hypersonic engine to turn on, it must first be accelerated to supersonic speed. This decision allows us to abandon the accelerator and reduce the size of the rocket, and the aircraft itself acts as the accelerator,” Lavrov suggested. “Plus its carrying capacity and external support allow you to carry such a large missile. Don't even put more than one on it. For example, on the Su-57, it is not a fact that it can be hung up, because of the weight and size indicators, ”the expert noted.
Moreover, as Leonkov stressed, the MiG-31 is an aircraft whose modernization potential has not been fully used up. “Gleb Evgenievich Lozino-Lozinsky, the well-known designer of the Buran, took part in its creation. When the MiG-31 was created, parameters were laid into it to make it a suborbital interceptor. The plane had to rise to a much greater height and at much higher speeds - about 7 thousand km / h, its design and hull were designed for this. But this was not realized due to the fact that there was no engine that would allow the aircraft to reach such a speed. If desired, our industry will be able to return to the development of such a power plant,” the source said.
As another platform for the "Dagger" called latest fighter the fifth generation of the Su-57, which is still in the testing phase. “He has two closed bomb bays that are located inside the aircraft, which helps him to be less radio-observable. If the parameters of this missile and the bomb bay match, then he will be able to take one or two such missiles,” Leonkov said. “The main purpose of the Su-57 is stealth and the solution of specific tasks. This would make it possible to use the “Dagger” for a covert strike against the enemy: entering some zone so that the enemy does not find the carrier, and then launching a rocket and leaving this zone, ”he added.
/ The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors /
The Russian Ministry of Defense demonstrated in action a hypersonic weapon that has no analogues in the world due to the high flight performance of the MiG-31 and a hypersonic aeroballistic missile with low radar signature and high maneuverability. On Sunday, March 11, footage of a practical combat training launch of a hypersonic missile was released from the latest Kinzhal aviation missile system, which was carried out by the crews of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The video was intended, among other things, for those who may have doubted the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin when, in his Address to the Federal Assembly. The President called it "ideal for Today, and stressed that the Kinzhal is guaranteed to overcome all existing and even promising air and missile defense systems. At the same time, the missile system itself has been on experimental combat duty since December 1, and the personnel are practicing the skills of its use. Since the beginning of 2018 alone, more than 250 flights have been performed to test the operation of the complex, said the deputy head of the State Flight Test Center named after V.I. Chkalova Valery Antsibor.
“Since the beginning of the year, according to the plans for experimental combat duty and flights for combat training, the complex has completed more than 250 flights. The flight crew is fully prepared, day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions. We are ready to perform tasks as intended,” said 1st class test pilot Colonel Valery Antsibor.On the day of the exercises, the pilots of the Russian Aerospace Forces were raised on a combat training alert, and on the runway of the airfield of the Southern Military District, modernized MiG-31s capable of launching the "Dagger" into the stratosphere were waiting for them. After takeoff, a fighter-interceptor with a hypersonic missile suspended from it. Uniqueness The complex is that the aircraft that carries it does not need to enter the enemy’s air defense coverage area, because the “Dagger” can be launched directly from near space. The Ministry of Defense noted that the launch went smoothly and the hypersonic missile hit the target at the training ground, during the exercises, the performance characteristics and time indicators of a high-precision aviation missile system were confirmed. The "Dagger" is designed to destroy ground and sea targets at a distance of up to two thousand kilometers. A sustainer engine mounted on a rocket in a matter of seconds accelerates the warhead to a speed several times higher than the speed of sound. At the same time, although even without this, not a single interceptor in the world will be able to catch up with such a rocket. weather and at any time of the day, numerous tests have confirmed. The presence of the Kinzhal complex expands the capabilities of the Russian Aerospace Forces to respond to possible aggression against Russia and, along with other strategic weapons systems, will help deter potential adversaries from rash actions.
The unique research of Russian scientists and the development of engineers made it possible to create the unique Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system, which, according to independent experts, is today one of the best and most powerful weapons in the world. In fact, Russia became the first country to successfully test and start using hypersonic weapons, which the United States has so far only dreamed of, which in turn ensures the country's high defense capability and high military potential. What is the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system?
What is a "dagger"?
Due to the fact that the development of domestic scientists and engineers is unique and secret, the true information about the purpose and capabilities of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system is not disclosed, however, it is known that it includes a carrier aircraft and a hypersonic missile. Warhead missiles of the Kinzhal complex can be equipped with both a conventional warhead and a nuclear one, which allows you to inflict colossal damage to the enemy. The maximum flight speed of the rocket of the Kinzhal air-missile system is about 12250 km / h, which means that the rocket will be able to cover a distance of 2000 kilometers in less than 10 minutes.
Given the hypersonic flight speed of the missile, the Kinzhal air-to-air missile system renders useless the operation of air defense and missile defense systems, which is already a matter of concern to the US Department of Defense, as this means that against modern Russian weapons there is simply no protection.
An equally important key feature of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system is that a missile with a warhead can maneuver in any part of the terrain, which makes its flight invisible.
Carrier aircraft for "Dagger"
Given the fact that the Kinzhal air and missile system is a modern development, the Russian Su-57 fighter-bomber will most likely be used as a carrier aircraft. There is no official confirmation of this yet, however, given the fact that the aircraft has not yet begun to enter service Russian army, it is likely that this model is the best suited for the intended purposes.
Skepticism and facts
Despite the fact that Vladimir Putin himself announced the completion of testing and development of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system, noting that the complex itself is already on experimental combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District, this statement has a lot of skeptics. Skepticism is primarily due to the fact that on the presented video materials, traces of editing were noticed, on which, a few moments before the explosion of the rocket, the substitution of the object that was struck was visible.
Of course, this can be explained by the fact that the developers, due to the secrecy of the air-missile complex, decided not to disclose its real capabilities, however, this is unlikely.
No less skepticism is caused by the fact that Russian scientists have not previously announced the development of hypersonic weapons, and the implementation of the project itself would most likely take at least 5-6 years, not to mention the allocation of colossal financial resources.
Be that as it may, given the officially presented data, today the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system is an absolute weapon, while, with a high degree of confidence, we can say that scientists will certainly continue to improve it.
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