All flight crews of the long-range aviation regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces, armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic systems, have mastered the use of this weapon.

This was announced by the commander of long-range aviation, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash.

“At the end of 2021, a regiment armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system based on MiG-31 aircraft became part of the long-range aviation ... At present, all flight crews of the regiment have mastered the program for the combat use of the new aviation missile system,” said Sergey Kobylash in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

According to him, the uniqueness of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation complex lies in the fact that its aeroballistic missile is capable of reaching speeds more than ten times the speed of sound, and at the same time maneuvering in all parts of the flight path.

“This allows it to reliably overcome all existing air defense systems and hit targets deep behind enemy lines,” the commander of long-range aviation emphasized.

He also reported on the use of the "Dagger" during the SVO.

“In the course of a special military operation, the Kinzhal complex was repeatedly used to destroy ground targets, which was the first use of hypersonic weapons in real combat conditions in world history.

"Dagger" showed high combat effectiveness and confirmed all the tactical and technical characteristics laid down in it, ”Kobylash noted.

  • Commander of Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation Sergey Kobylash

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  • © Maxim Bogodvid

According to the commander, all the combat experience gained during the special operation "is constantly analyzed and purposefully and persistently introduced into the practice of training troops."

Kobylash also said that in the interests of long-range aviation, "the development and supply of the entire range of aviation weapons, including new cruise hypersonic missiles, is now being carried out." 

“We called this system “Dagger”

Recall that for the first time the creation of hypersonic missiles "Dagger" in Russia became known in March 2018.

President Vladimir Putin, in a message to the Federal Assembly, said then that from December 1, 2017, this high-precision aviation and missile system began to carry out experimental combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District.

“The unique flight performance of a high-speed carrier aircraft makes it possible to deliver a missile to a drop point in a matter of minutes.

At the same time, a missile flying at a hypersonic speed ten times the speed of sound also maneuvers in all parts of the flight path, which also allows it to reliably overcome all existing and, I think, promising anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, delivering to the target at range over 2,000 km nuclear and conventional warheads.

We called this system “Dagger,” the head of state said.

  • Vladimir Putin delivers a message to the Federal Assembly, March 1, 2018

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  • © Grigory Sysoev

The carrier of the "Daggers" is a special version of the high-altitude long-range fighter-interceptor MiG-31.

The aircraft modified to use hypersonic missiles received the MiG-31K index.

According to analysts, the fighter actually performs the function of the first stage of the rocket: it lifts the projectile to a height of up to 25 km and accelerates it to a speed of 3 thousand km / h, after which the rocket begins autonomous movement.

As Yury Borisov, then Deputy Minister of Defense, reported in 2018, the MiG-31 was chosen as the carrier of the "Dagger" because this aircraft "is the most suitable for accelerating this missile to the required speeds at the required altitudes."

In December 2021, at an expanded meeting of the collegium of the Russian Ministry of Defense with the participation of Vladimir Putin, the head of the department, Sergei Shoigu, announced that an aviation regiment of MiG-31K fighters with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles had been formed in the Aerospace Forces.

In March 2022, it became known about the first combat use of the Kinzhal complex during the NWO.

As Igor Konashenkov, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense, noted then, “Daggers” destroyed underground protected storage facilities for aviation ammunition and combat units for Tochka-U complexes in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, as well as large fuel depots in the village of Konstantinovka, Mykolaiv region. 

“The use of a hypersonic aeroballistic missile of the Kinzhal complex was carried out from a range of more than 1,000 km.

The flight time of a hypersonic missile was less than ten minutes.

Due to hypersonic speed and ultra-high kinetic energy, the warhead of the Kinzhal missile destroyed a protected underground arsenal located in a mountainous area, built back in Soviet times to store special ammunition and missiles, ”Konashenkov specified. 

In August, Sergei Shoigu, in an interview with the Rossiya 1 TV channel, said that the "Dagger" was used three times as part of a special operation.

And in October, the commander of the united group of troops in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe NWO, Sergei Surovikin, in an interview with reporters, announced the high effectiveness of the "Daggers".

“The newest Kinzhal hypersonic air missiles have proven themselves well in hitting targets.

None of the enemy's air defense systems are terrible for this missile.

Air-launched strategic cruise missiles also showed the highest accuracy,” the military leader said. 

  • Fighter-interceptor MiG-31K with a hypersonic missile "Dagger"

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  • © Andrey Stanavov

Carrier killer

According to military expert Yuri Knutov, the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles are highly accurate and powerful.

“These missiles have great kinetic energy and the highest accuracy.

The fact that they can destroy well-fortified underground facilities, as happened in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, speaks not so much about the power of the Kinzhal warhead, but about their colossal kinetic energy, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

According to him, today the opponents of the Russian Federation do not have the means to intercept the "Daggers", which are called "killers of aircraft carriers."  

“The rocket is unique.

Ukraine has no means that can detect it in flight and intercept it.

The Americans can detect it, but their air defense and missile defense systems will also not be able to bring it down, ”said Knutov.

According to the expert, Russia managed to break ahead in the field of hypersonic technologies.  

“Today this is our advantage.

"Daggers", among other things, can maneuver.

Radar stations practically do not see them, because the missiles are covered with plasma during movement, and the plasma absorbs radio-magnetic radiation, ”the expert specified.

In turn, Andrei Koshkin, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation, in a conversation with RT noted that Russia managed to achieve such results largely due to the preservation of the scientific and industrial base after the collapse of the USSR.

“We have a powerful military-industrial complex, which we not only have not lost, but are trying to expand.

We understand that only the possession of the nuclear triad and such high-precision weapons systems as the Kinzhal complex will allow us to defend our country and prevent the redivision of the world.

Therefore, it is very important that we continue to develop such weapons, ”concluded the analyst.