Russia’s ‘unstoppable’ Kinzhal hypersonic missile showed 'poor performance' in Kyiv: UK Defence Min

Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin’s much touted ‘unstoppable hypersonic missiles’ widely used in the ongoing war in Ukraine, the ‘dagger’ is proven to have a ‘poor’ performance, according to the intelligence update published by the UK Defence Ministry on October 21. Putin, earlier this week, announced that he had ordered the Russian Aerospace Forces to begin patrolling the Black Sea with MiG-31K loaded with Kh-47M2 Kinzhal nuclear capable air launched ballistic missiles. The Kinzhal boasts a range of over 1,000km and speed of up to Mach 9.

‘Kinzhal has not done well in Ukraine’: UK

Russian President’s instructions came in response to Pentagon redirecting the USS Eisenhower and its strike group of a cruiser and destroyers to the Middle East, to join the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group in the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran backed Hezbollah from joining the Israel-Hamas war.  "I have directed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG) to begin moving to the Eastern Mediterranean," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement confirming deployment. "As part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack on Israel."

UK’s ministry of defence said in an intelligence update on Saturday that the Kinzhal’s performance in the war torn Ukraine has been ‘poor’ so far, and that it it has been on the operational testing. During his speech made on the sidelines of the visit to China, Putin reiterated that the Russian patrols were ‘not a threat’ but that they were necessary due to the US ‘direct’  involvement in ongoing war in Ukraine. Putin also questioned United States’ maritime presence in the eastern Mediterranean saying that the latter was inflaming the conflicts including in Kyiv by ‘wading deeper’ and providing Ukrainian forces with the long range ATACMS.

“Kinzhal has not done well in Ukraine and effectively remains in operational testing,” the British Defence Intelligence read.

UK believes that the deployment of the much touted Russian Kinzhal “was likely intentional, intended to remind Russians that the nation continues to produce high-powered weapons.” But the missiles themselves are yet to live up to the much hyped expectations. In May, Ukraine’s military shot down the dagger missile with a US-made Patriot interceptor, but the manufacturer Rostec, said that there was ‘no countermeasure’ to the hypersonic missile, while Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal nuclear capable could neither be detected nor be intercepted.