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2023-05-07 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Has Ukraine shot down 'unstoppable' Putin missile? Experts say wreckage suggests a hypersonic Kinzhal has been downed
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Posted by Skidmark 2023-05-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ]  Top

#1 hypersonic but non maneuverable
Posted by lord garth 2023-05-07 06:09||   2023-05-07 06:09|| Front Page Top

#2 Hypersonic have a very large heat signature. Satellite detect + fast enough computer, you have a targeting solution.
Posted by Procopius2k 2023-05-07 08:37||   2023-05-07 08:37|| Front Page Top

#3 Key word, Has.' The suggestion that this video footage is of a Russian missile being shot down has been debunked by Ukrainian air defense, however. The Ukrainian Air Force said it downed its own drone after it lost control over Kyiv.'
Posted by Dale 2023-05-07 10:49||   2023-05-07 10:49|| Front Page Top

#4 ^ "It all depends on what the meaning of IS is"
Posted by Frank G 2023-05-07 11:04||   2023-05-07 11:04|| Front Page Top

#5 For at least the 78th time, I don't believe one single word out of the Ukrainians' gobs.
Posted by DooDahMan 2023-05-07 11:07||   2023-05-07 11:07|| Front Page Top

#6 For at least the 78th time, I don't believe one single word out of the Ukrainians' gobs.

Shot down by the Ghost of Kiev himself, it was. One thing I've noticed in this war is that the Russians don't seem to lie. (that popping sound you hear is heads exploding) At least they don't lie about things that can be checked, unlike the Ukrainians who have a well-earned reputation for just making stuff up. The Russians may lie by omission, but is that really a sin?

I would be unsurprised if the Ukrainians got one. The Kinzhal is really, really fast which means it is hard to stop, not the same thing as "unstoppable". Could be a lucky engagement, could be a crash. I would be equally unsurprised if they had to tune the Patriot battery software for a different class of target. Engagement envelops and what-not.

The fact that the DM uses the phrase "Putin missile" makes me think they are selling something.
Posted by SteveS 2023-05-07 13:12||   2023-05-07 13:12|| Front Page Top

#7 /\ Never discount the "Lucky BB" theory.
Posted by Besoeker 2023-05-07 13:15||   2023-05-07 13:15|| Front Page Top

#8 The warhead of the "unstoppable" hypersonic russian Kh-47 Kinzhal
missile that was shot down by the US Patriot missile system delivered 2 weeks ago.



Posted by Ebbimp Lover of the Trolls5787 2023-05-07 18:00||   2023-05-07 18:00|| Front Page Top

#9 
Posted by Ebbimp Lover of the Trolls5787 2023-05-07 18:05||   2023-05-07 18:05|| Front Page Top

#10 Ukrainian Air Force spoke-droid says it never happened, notes some people have been scolded for making stuff up.
Posted by SteveS 2023-05-07 18:15||   2023-05-07 18:15|| Front Page Top

#11 Ukraine's air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile

KYIV: Ukraine's air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defence systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow's most modern missiles.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defence systems.

"Yes, we shot down the 'unique' Kinzhal," Oleshchuk wrote. "It happened during the nighttime attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region."
Posted by Ebbimp Lover of the Trolls5787 2023-05-07 18:26||   2023-05-07 18:26|| Front Page Top

#12 Never discount the "Lucky BB" theory

That said, I wonder how many $4M missiles were fired at this specific target?
Posted by Mullah Richard 2023-05-07 19:18||   2023-05-07 19:18|| Front Page Top

#13 When you don't have to pay for them, why would you worry about how many you havre to shoot?
Posted by ed in texas 2023-05-07 19:35||   2023-05-07 19:35|| Front Page Top

#14 Air defense works (especially anti-ballistic weapons) by plotting where something will be than arranging a few interceptors to be there at that time. The theory behind modern hypersonic weapons is they move fast and CAN maneuver to avoid this.

The Kinzhal cannot maneuver. It is a ballistic missile that is fired from a jet and moves sidewise. So it goes from hard as hell to shoot down to merely challenging with that lack. Not surprised by this as the THAAD can do the same with nuclear weapons at least.
Posted by DarthVader 2023-05-07 21:40||   2023-05-07 21:40|| Front Page Top

#15 That said, I wonder how many $4M missiles were fired at this specific target?

PAC-2 missile is the type reported to have been delivered, which is a 90s version upgraded a bit in the 2000s and costs around 1 million.

Typically they ripple fire air defense missiles by firing one, then a second a bit later. The idea is if the target moves or is missed the second will get it.
Posted by DarthVader 2023-05-07 21:45||   2023-05-07 21:45|| Front Page Top

#16 Because the nose cone took what looks like a shrapnel hit, I guess that it was a PAC-2 missile from the Germans that brought it down. I don't believe the US battery was active at the time. If the Ukrainians also have the PAC-3, they are not advertising it.

The Ukrainians initially denied the interception because they didn't want the Russians to know they had the capability to shoot down Khinzal. It is not an advertised Patriot feature. This means that the Kh-22/32 missiles (apartment block destroyers) are also vulnerable to interception. The Ukrainians just need more batteries to cover more cities.

Typically they ripple fire air defense missiles by firing one, then a second a bit later.

That may be US Army SOP. The Ukrainians are more stingy on intercept videos I have seem. They need to husband their limited supplies much more closely.
Posted by Enver Slager8035 2023-05-07 22:57||   2023-05-07 22:57|| Front Page Top

23:35 Snuter Angerens3211
23:18 Enver Slager8035
23:13 Enver Slager8035
23:10 trailing wife
23:10 Enver Slager8035
22:57 Enver Slager8035
22:52 Canuckistan sniper
22:03 DooDahMan
21:45 DarthVader
21:40 DarthVader
21:07 Anomalous Sources
21:05 Anomalous Sources
21:03 trailing wife
21:02 Anomalous Sources
21:00 Anomalous Sources
20:21 NoMoreBS
20:15 Silentbrick
19:56 jpal
19:39 Croluse Grumble7688
19:35 ed in texas
19:18 Mullah Richard
19:06 Frank G
18:53 trailing wife
18:46 trailing wife









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