A Russian “hypersonic” missile “Kinzhal” was shot down in the sky over Kiev, – media report

“Defense Express” reported that it received photos of the missile fragments from its own sources.

Based on the photos, the fragments without the warhead fell on a stadium within the capital.

One of the photos shows the nose cone, which is very similar to the one used in the X-47 “Kinzhal” missile, with a complex shape of sharp diameter transitions.

The alternative X-22 has a different nose section with oval transitions. The nose cone of the downed missile also differs from the ballistic missile of the OTRK “Iskander”, which is “thicker”.

The fragment shows signs of puncture damage, which allows an estimate of the thickness of the material needed to withstand high temperatures during acceleration to hypersonic speed. This also indicates that the interception was quite effective in destroying the warhead in mid-air. This was accompanied by a powerful explosion that was heard by Kyiv residents on the night of May 4th.

Regarding reports that a ballistic target was destroyed, the “Kinzhal” is not actually hypersonic because although it can reach hypersonic speeds through its booster, it cannot maintain such speed constantly. Only on the terminal segment, during the attack, it follows a ballistic trajectory and has a high, but not hypersonic speed.

Photo: Open sources