The Russian Defense Ministry announced today, Saturday, that yesterday it used hypersonic "Kingal" (dagger) missiles, destroying an underground weapons depot in western Ukraine, which is the first time that this weapon has been used in a real battle.
"On March 18 (yesterday), the Kinzhal system with its hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground storage of missiles and ammunition belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force in the town of Delyatin in the Ivano-Frankivsk region," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
The Russian state news agency RIAnovosti reported that it was the first time that such a missile had been used in combat.
Moscow reports that this type of missile, which can be highly controlled, cannot be detected by all air defense systems.
"Kinghal" hypersonic ballistic missiles and "Zircon" cruise missiles belong to a new family of weapons developed by Russia, which President Vladimir Putin says are "indomitable".
Successful tests were conducted on the "Kingal" missiles in 2018, during which they hit all their targets at a distance of up to 2,000 km, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The speed of these missiles exceeds the speed of sound several times, and can reach a speed of more than 6 thousand kilometers per hour, and they are launched from MiG-31 aircraft.