MIM-104 Patriot in action - The Ukrainian Air Force for the first time shot down the Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile, which can reach speeds of more than 12,000 km/h

The Ukrainian Air Force shot down the Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile for the first time. The day before, Ukrainian media

published a photo of the destroyed missile. Today, May 6, the Air Force officially confirmed the information. The missile was shot down over Kyiv on the night of May 4.

What is known

The Russian army has long used missilesX-47 and X-22. Previously, the Ukrainian air defense system could not shoot them down. With the receipt of the MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 anti-aircraft missile systems, the situation should change.

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One of the pictures shows the nasalfairing, which is as similar as possible to the one used in the X-47 "Dagger" missiles. The nose cone of the Iskander and Kh-22 missiles has a different shape. You can see them in the photos below.

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The X-47 Kinzhal is considered a hypersonic missile, butthere is a nuance. It is built on the basis of the Iskander operational-tactical ballistic missile and can actually reach speeds of more than Mach 5 (6174 km/h). Moreover, the maximum flight speed is Mach 10 (more than 12,000 km/h).

However, the X-47 "Dagger" cannot supporthypersonic speed over the entire flight range. In the terminal stage of the flight, the missile attacks the target along a ballistic trajectory, and the speed drops below Mach 5. The maximum launch range is 2000-3000 km, depending on the carrier aircraft.