Russia has used hypersonic missiles in its invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has confirmed.
"And for those who'll discover, (Russia has) simply launched the hypersonic missile, as a result of it is the one factor that they will get via with absolute certainty," Mr Biden stated.
"It is a consequential weapon ... it is virtually inconceivable to cease it. There is a purpose they're utilizing it."
However British intelligence and even Mr Biden's personal defence secretary have downplayed Russia's use of its air-launched Kinzhal missiles.
"I might not see it as a game-changer," Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin advised CBS on Face the Nation.
And the UK Defence Ministry stated the Kinzhal missile is admittedly simply an air-launched model of the Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), which Russia has used repeatedly in its invasion of Ukraine.
READ MORE:The weapons of the Russia-Ukraine battle
Why the hype about hypersonic missiles?
First, it is essential to grasp the time period.
Basically, all missiles are hypersonic - which suggests they journey at the very least 5 instances the velocity of sound.
Virtually any warhead launched from a rocket kilometres within the ambiance will attain this velocity heading to its goal.
It isn't a brand new know-how.
What navy powers - together with Russia, China, the US and North Korea - are engaged on now could be a hypersonic glide car (HGV).
An HGV is a extremely manoeuvrable payload that may theoretically fly at hypersonic velocity whereas adjusting course and altitude to fly underneath radar detection and round missile defences.
An HGV is the weapon that is virtually inconceivable to cease.
And Russia is assumed to have an HGV in its arsenal, the Avangard system, which Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 known as "virtually invulnerable" to Western air defences.
However the Kinzhal, as a variant of the Iskander SRBM, shouldn't be an HGV.
Whereas it does have restricted manoeuvrability just like the Iskander, its principal benefit is that it may be launched from MiG-31 fighter jets, giving it an extended vary and the power to assault from a number of instructions, based on a report final yr from the Centre for Strategic and Worldwide Research.
"The MiG-31K can strike from unpredictable instructions and will keep away from interception makes an attempt altogether. The flying service car may additionally be extra survivable than the road-mobile Iskander system," the report stated.
The identical report additionally famous that the ground-launched Iskander proved weak to missile defence methods through the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh battle, throughout which Azeri forces intercepted an Armenian Iskander.
"This implies that claims of the Kinzhal's invulnerability to missile defence methods can also be considerably exaggerated," the report stated.
Does Ukraine have missile defences?
The US and its NATO allies are already sending a number of surface-to-air missiles methods to Ukraine to assist in its defence.
In keeping with a senior US official, these extra methods embrace the Soviet-era SA-8, SA-10, SA-12 and SA-14 cell air defence methods.
And NATO member Slovakia has agreed to ship even higher S-300 missile defence batteries to Ukraine as soon as it will get appropriate replacements from NATO companions, sources have advised CNN.
Why did Putin use the Kinzhal missile?
The launches have been possible supposed to check the weapons and ship a message to the West about Russian capabilities, a number of sources advised CNN.
And with the battle on the bottom in Ukraine changing into a stalemate, Russia could also be on the lookout for victories it may well tout.
The UK Defence Ministry stated Moscow in all probability deployed the Kinzhal to "detract from a scarcity of progress in Russia's floor marketing campaign".
Purchasing centre shattered in Russian bombing