appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Business Insider

Russia’s air-launched ballistic missiles are not proving “undefeatable” in practice, UK intelligence observed on Tuesday.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) said in an intelligence update that Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles had a “mixed combat debut” in Ukraine.
“Many of its launches have likely missed their intended targets, while Ukraine has also succeeded in intercepting attacks by this supposedly ‘undefeatable’ system,” it said.
The line about it being undefeatable came from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who used the word when it was unveiled in 2018. Other Russian officials have made much the same.

The prompt for the update was Russia deploying the missile again for the first time in months.
The MOD assessment said that Russia likely launched one at a target in central Ukraine on December 14, the missile’s first outing since August.
Putin says Russia ready to talk on Ukraine during defence meeting in Moscow
According to a Telegram post by Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched three of them towards Kyiv and a strategic airfield in the western city of Starokonstantinov.
An anti-missile unit intercepted one in the Kyiv region, Ukraine said. It didn’t say what happened to the other two.
The MOD already reported in October that Kinzhal’s performance had so far been “poor,” despite the bombast with which Russia describes it.
In a 2018 address to Russia’s Federal Assembly, Putin numbered them among six super weapons, per the MOD.
At the time, Putin touted the missile as “flying at a hypersonic speed, 10 times faster than the speed of sound, that can also manoeuvre at all phases of its flight trajectory.”
He said that its speed “allows it to overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads in a range of over 2,000 kilometres.”
‘Nonsense’: Putin chides Biden, says Russia has no interest in attacking Nato
However, the Kinzhal’s claim to be a hypersonic weapon doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Missiles are considered “hypersonic” when they travel over five times the speed of sound with “significant maneuverability,” per a research briefing by the MOD.
While ballistic missiles, like the Kinzhal, do have the capacity for hypersonic flight with some maneuverability, they don’t have sustained hypersonic flight ability, experts said, as Business Insider previously reported.
Kinzhal is an advanced system designed to be fired at speed and altitude from the MiG-31, a fast-moving Russian combat aircraft, per the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Threat project.
Ukraine had already shot down six Kinzhal missiles that Russia fired in an assault in May, The New York Times reported at the time, quoting Ukrainian and US officials.
Read the original article on Business Insider


Russia warns diplomats in Ukraine capital to evacuate in case of ‘retaliatory strike’

Russian attacks kill 27 in Ukraine before proposed rival ceasefires

Why Japanese politician’s goal to reset ties with Russia is ‘a long shot’

Thanks to Trump and Netanyahu, everyone now wants to go nuclear

Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Russia’s ‘undefeatable’ missile doesn’t work well, UK intel says

A Russian Air Force MiG-31K jet carries a high-precision hypersonic aero-ballistic missile Kh-47M2 Kinzhal during the Victory Day military parade in May 2018. Photo: AP

Russian MiG-31K jets carrying Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles. File photo: AP

What if Putin wins? US allies fear defeat as Ukraine war aid stalls

Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual news conference in Moscow last week. Photo: AP

Ukrainian forces fire a Swedish-made Archer self-propelled howitzer at Russian positions. Photo: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on December 12. Photo: AP

Military recruitment billboards in St Petersburg, Russia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Russia unaware of Ukraine war death toll due to military’s ‘culture of dishonest reporting’: UK intelligence

Firefighters remove debris searching a casualty following a military strike amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s Vladimir Putin says no peace in Ukraine until goals are achieved, vows victory at year-end conference in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow on Thursday, where he vowed that Moscow would triumph over Kyiv. Photo: AP/Pool

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to attend his annual news conference in Moscow on Thursday. Photo: AP/Pool

Vladimir Putin vowed there would be a Russian victory over Ukraine. Photo EPA-EFE/Pool

Ukraine war: why Kyiv says talks with Russia’s ‘habitual liar’ Putin and the Kremlin are ‘pointless’

Ukraine says it is “pointless” to try to negotiate with Russia and “habitual liar” Vladmir Putin. Photo: EPA-EFE/Kremlin Pool

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been described as a “habitual liar” by Ukrain’s foreign minister. Photo: Kremlin Pool via AP

News

World

Russia & Central Asia

Europe

Russia’s advanced missiles don’t work as well as claimed, the UK Ministry of Defence said
Russian President Putin said the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles were ‘undefeatable’ systems


Russian President Vladimir Putin once said the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles were ‘undefeatable’ systems. In Ukraine, they’ve often been defeated, the UK Ministry of Defence said.


Ukraine war: Russia’s ‘undefeatable’ missile doesn’t work well, UK intel says

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Russia’s advanced missiles don’t work as well as claimed, the UK Ministry of Defence said Russian President Putin said the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles were ‘undefeatable’ systems

Russia’s advanced missiles don’t work as well as claimed, the UK Ministry of Defence said

Russian President Putin said the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles were ‘undefeatable’ systems