9M730 Kinzhal - Dagger / Product 75 / Product 715
The Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile system was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 1. The Russian leader said the Kinzhal had an operating range of over 2,000 km. The MiG-31K fighter jet is the basic carrier of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. During its use, the missile is accelerated by the aircraft to its maximum possible speed and after its release it switches on its solid-propellant engine and gains a hypersonic speed of 10 times the speed of the sound. The Kinzhal missile [possibly with the NATO designation KILLJOY ] is capable of maneuvering at this speed and Russian commentators claim it remains actually invulnerable to the air defense and anti-ballistic missile systems existing today.
By one May 2023 report, In total, the Russian Federation produced about 30 "Daggers". During the war in 2022, she used at least 2 missiles. Taking into account those that were launched in 2023, they used at least 7 more. Therefore, about 20 pieces remained. By another count, at least 21 had been expended by 10 March 2023. Kinzhal is an expensive missile, and there are not many of them in Russia: before the start of a full-scale war, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the stock was up to 50 units.
On 18 March 2022, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation reported that it had destroyed a large underground warehouse of missiles and aviation ammunition of the Ukrainian troops in Delyatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region, using the Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles. This was announced by the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
The head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, commented on the first official report of the military department on the combat use of the latest hypersonic missiles. He believes that the capabilities of the latest Kinzhal missile system, demonstrated during a special military operation in Ukraine, prove the leadership of the Russian military-industrial complex in the development of hypersonic weapons.
"The use of a set of weapons that relate to hypersonic weapons within the framework of a special military operation is quite justified. Especially considering the fact that the launchers of long-range anti-aircraft missile systems remain in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In this case, it is logical to use the high-precision weapons that are guaranteed destroys targets without any possibility of using anti-missiles against them," Mikhailov said.
Mikhailov emphasized that the demonstration of the real capabilities of the Kinzhal missile system is very important in the light of the Russophobic campaign unleashed in the West to discredit Russian weapons, among other things. "Now in the West they are trying to discredit the targeted work that the Russian army is doing during the special operation and its surgical methods to cut off Ukrainian neo-Nazis from the civilian population. Therefore, the work of the latest Russian weapons, including the Kinzhal complex, must be demonstrated in any case," - said the expert.
"Such presentations of the real capabilities of Russian high-precision weapons once again remind the Western establishment and the media that Russia is a leader in the development and use of the latest high-precision and advanced hypersonic weapons, and the rest are still far from the achievements of our defense industry," Mikhailov concluded.
In the "President's Address to the Federal Assembly" on 01 March 2018, Putin stated "The most important stage of modern weapons systems was the creation of a high-precision hypersonic aircraft-missile complex, as you already knew for sure, without world analogues. His tests have been successfully completed, and, moreover, since December 1 of last year the complex began to carry out pilot-combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District. Unique flight characteristics of a high-speed carrier aircraft allow the missile to be delivered to the point of discharge within minutes. At the same time, a missile flying at a hypersonic speed exceeding the speed of sound by a factor of ten also maneuver on all sections of the flight path, which also allows it to overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, range more than two thousand kilometers of nuclear and conventional warheads. We called this system "Dagger"."
The MiG-31 has a length of 70 feet, 5 inches (21.5 meters), while the Iskander / SS-26 is 7.2 meters long. These dimensions correspond very nicely to the released imagery. The video released on 12 March 2018 shows the release of the missile from the MiG-21 and the ignition after a drop of many hundreds of feet. The exhaust of the missile is quite smokey, consistent with the solid propellant of the Iskander, but inconsistent with the essential claim of the Dagger system, that the high-speed MiG-31 is used as an accelerator for a hypersonic air-breathing missile.
The dagger is a contact, blade, or piercing-cutting weapon with a short or medium straight or curved double-edged blade. Most often, the dagger is used for close combat, but there are varieties of dagger with a weighted blade, designed for throwing. In modern armed conflicts, combat daggers are used mainly as an auxiliary kind of weapons designed to solve special tasks. The DKK "Dagger" ( GRUU - 3K95 index , export name - Blade, according to the classification of the US Defense Ministry and NATO - SA-N-9 Gauntlet is a Soviet and Russian multichannel all-weather sea-based anti-aircraft missile system. Probably the Kinzhal is the unofficial name of the 9M730 Project developed by NPO Novator.
A hypersonic weapon is capable of performing controlled aerodynamic flight (arbitrarily maneuver in pitch, roll and course) in the atmosphere for a long time (at least several minutes) with a speed of at least 5 Mach. The Mach number shows how many times the aircraft has exceeded the speed of sound. In order to determine at what speed the device will move relative to the Earth, it is necessary to know for what height the number M is taken, since the speed of sound with altitude drops (it is 340 m / s near the ground and only 300 m / s - at an altitude of 10 km). Usually the number M for aircraft as the maximum speed is indicated at a high altitude, and it is logical to assume that the case is also the case for hypersonic weapons. Therefore, 5 Mach - 5400 km / h of ground speed (vehicle speed relative to the earth's surface) at an altitude of 10-11 km.
In January 2018, the Russian press published information about a hypersonic aviation missile that was being created in Russia, called the "Product 75" - surprisingly similar to the "Dagger". The Product 75 range was 1500 km, weight - 1500 kg, and length - 6 m. But the speed is lower than what Putin said - mach 6. It was reported that the new missile is intended for strategic bombers Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS, Tu-160M2. However, the "product 75" weight and dimensions are such that it can work well with the MiG-31BM.
But at the same time "product 75" looks like "product 715", which is a deep upgrade of the X-32 missile, which is considered "the killer of aircraft carriers". At the finish line, the X-32 accelerates to a speed exceeding 5 M. But its flight becomes uncontrollable. So it can very well be that the designers managed to achieve both maneuvering in the final section of the trajectory, and increasing the speed.
The length of the X-47M2 is about three meters, the speed of the ammunition exceeds 10 Mach, the range of its flight is 2000 kilometers. Since December 1, 2017, "Dagger" is being tested in combat combat operation in the Southern Military District with interceptors MiG-31BM.
The maximum speed of the Dagger was probably somewhat overstated by the president. The message spoke of a tenfold increase in the speed of sound (Mach 10) in flight. At the same time, the anti-ship missile "Zircon", which is at the final stage of testing, is dispersed "only" to the unthinkable Mach 6-7M, which is one and a half times less. And this is quite a lot.
Hypersonic missiles, which include the sea-launched "Zircon", requires an additional accelerating engine. Either solid fuel or LPRE. It is understandable that this complicates the development of the missile. The hypersonic missile said to be equipped with a hypersonic direct-air jet engine (GPVRD).
The heavy fighter-interceptor MiG-31 has a maximum speed is 3400 km / h. This is more than enough. And, indeed, on the video demonstration, which was accompanied by the message of the president, as a carrier of the "Dagger" was a modification of the interceptor MiG-31BM. The maximum takeoff weight is 47 tons. Is capable of taking 9 tons of missile and bomb weapons. This is quite enough for working with hypersonic rockets.
From a mechanical point of view, hypersonic direct-air jet engine (GPVRD) is simple. It is, very conditionally speaking, two funnels, connected in the middle by their narrow parts. Air is sucked into the front funnel, which plays the role of an oxidizer. In the center, at the point of constriction, combustion of fuel takes place. The products of combustion escape through the rear funnel, forming a jet.
According to the commander-in-chief of Sergei Surovikin, the "marching" engine accelerates the warhead to hypersonic speed within a few seconds. According to Surovikin, the creation of an air missile complex with a high-precision aerial ballistic missile "Dagger" has become an important breakthrough in the development of hypersonic weapons systems, the Interfax news agency reported. According to him, the upgraded MiG-31, without entering the enemy's air defense zone, will deliver the missile to the discharge zone, after which the march engine will accelerate the warhead to hypersonic speeds within a few seconds.
"Maneuvering the missile at speeds several times the speed of sound allows it to overcome all existing and developed air defense and anti-missile defense systems," Surovikin said. Glavkom VKS also said that during tests at the ranges of the Ministry of Defense all the launches of hypersonic missiles resulted in the exact defeat of the assigned targets. "Since December 1 of last year," Dagger "has risen to pilot-combat duty in one of the air formations. Now the bases of his combat use are being worked out," said Surovikin.
The product index is not yet known for this distant descendant of the Soviet tactical strike aeroballistic missile X-15 ("Article 115"). In the video for official use presented to the Federal Assembly, the long-range interceptor MiG-31D3 with the onboard number "592" (serial number 5902, "Product 01D3"), which was the first "Foxhound", adapted for refueling in the air and known for its flight over the Northern Geographic and North Magnetic Poles under the control of test pilot Roman Taskaev and test navigator Leonid Popov.
Analyzing the video material, it can be concluded that the design of the mounts for "Dagger" uses all 4 of the ventral sub-body, designed for R-33/S air-battle missiles, while the estimated length of the product corresponds to 6.5-7 meters, the body diameter is about 1000-1100 mm. The outer appearance of the rocket is similar to the 9M723-1 tactical ballistic missile Iskander-M, which makes possible the unification of the Dagger and Iskander in many modules of the avionics system, including: an inertial navigation system, a control system (represented by a gyro-stabilized platform and a digital ), An active radar-type guidance system (a radioscreen ARGSN fairing, possibly a 9B918 product from the Radar MMS research association) is visible on video, as well as a control complex based on aerodynamic rudders.
Despite the solid constructive similarity with the Iskander, the claimed flying characteristics of the Dagger are about an order of magnitude greater than the 9M723 and X-15 combined. In particular, according to Vladimir Putin, the new air-launched missile system is capable of hitting targets with conventional high-explosive fragmentation and nuclear warheads at a distance of 2,000 km. Such a long range at such a small size is achieved by a high altitude stratospheric launch, which allows the missile to avoid the ascending branch of the trajectory in the dense layers of the troposphere, which burns an impressive percentage of precious fuel. This automatically guides "Dagger" to medium-range missile armament (RSD), and even in a super mobile version.
The aeroballistic hypersonic missile "Dagger" has a "quasi-ballistic" flight path at altitudes from 35 to 50-80 or more kilometers, thanks to which Russian commentators claim the air attack facility is able to overcome virtually any missile defense system above their maximum high-altitude interception boundary. Russian commentators claim MIM-104F (Patriot PAC-3), Aster-30 Block 1NT missiles will not be able to reach the Dagger on the high-altitude section of the trajectory. They claim that hypersonic missiles launched from air platforms (tactical fighters) over the territory of the Leningrad region will be able to strike without hindrance at the intensified AAG of the United NATO Navy in the North Atlantic, and the Swedish "Patriots" and "Gripenas" will not be able to counter anything with the "Dagger" rocket flying in the stratopause or thermosphere.
In the immediate vicinity of the battlefield, where the enemy's naval unit is located, the Dagger will enter the range of the RIM-161B / RIM-174 interceptor missiles and the AN/SPY-1D radar. Here the hypersonic "killer of aircraft carriers" has advantages such as the ultra-small EPR (approximately corresponding to the radar signature of the 9M723-1 missile of the Iskander-M missile system), a huge flying speed of 10500 km / h (taking precious seconds from the operators of Aegis on the "target route" and "capture"), as well as the possible implementation of anti-maneuver maneuvers with overloads of more than 30 to 35 units.
Russian commentators claim this will not allow intercepts not only on the descending branch of the trajectory in the thermosphere / upper layers of the stratosphere using the exoatmospheric combat stages Mk 142, but also in the denser layers of the atmosphere with the help of anti-aircraft interceptor missiles RIM-174 ERAM (Standard Missile-6) and RIM-162 ESSM, which are unable to work on such maneuverable objects. Russian commentators claim Americans may dream of the interception of the Dagger with the help of the "Standards", but its claimed speed is 2 times higher than that of the SM-6 and roughly corresponds to the SM-3.
The highlight of the multi-purpose aeroballistic rocket "Dagger" is the ability to attack at a dive angle of 90 degrees, which makes it difficult to detect AN / SPY-1 radar systems, which have a noticeably smaller elevation angle of the scanning beam. Apparently, the product can also be used for terrestrial radio-emitting / radiocontrast purposes such as "radar", "PU Otbrad", etc.
They were sent to the Southern Military District. And this is quite strange. Because there were no fighter units in the South East Fleet, in which the MiG-31 interceptors would be operated. But without them, "Daggers" do not fly. This means that the MiG-31 on duty somewhere on the Kuban or near Rostov-on-Don is still sent only in the mode of alert duty. For a couple of months. Although it is possible - soon several MiG-31 will additionally arm the already existing parts of the South-Eastern Military District. Specially for "Daggers".
The range of the Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile will reach about 3,000 km aboard the new Tu-22M3 carrier bomber compared to over 2,000 km on board the MiG-31K fighter jet, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on 18 July 2018. "The Kinzhal is an air-launched missile system and, therefore, it is necessary to look at its range considering the combat radius of its carrier. For the Tu-22M3, aboard which the missile will soon be tested, the hypersonic missile’s target destruction range will equal over 3,000 km [the carrier’s combat radius plus the missile’s range]," the source said. The source declined to give the exact range of the Kinzhal missile system.
Ukraine’s Air Force commander, Lieutenant General Nikolay Oleshuk, claimed on his Telegram channel that Kiev's forces had intercepted a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. On May 9, the Pentagon press secretary, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, told journalists that the US Defense Department “can confirm that the Ukrainians took down this Russian missile with a Patriot missile defense system.†He said, though, that he would not “get into the specifics†or try to “characterize†the missile supposedly intercepted by Kiev. On 10 May 2023, Kiev showed the remnants of what it said were several missiles, one of which it claimed was a Kinzhal.
On 14 May 2023, a source within the Russian military called the reports about an interception of the Russian Kinzhal missile by the Patriot system “an attempt to substitute a wish for reality.†The hypersonic missile has a speed exceeding the maximum interception capabilities of any air-defense systems used by Ukraine, including the Patriot, the source told TASS. The Kinzhal also executes a special maneuver to avoid interception and makes an almost vertical approach to the target, the source added.
Kiev’s claims that it intercepted a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile with a US-made Patriot air defense system are not true, several sources within the Russian military and defense industry told the newspaper Izvestia on 15 May 2023. Ukrainian forces failed to hit a single such missile to date, the sources added. Most Kinzhal launches are not even detected by either Ukrainian or NATO radar surveillance systems, the Russian media outlet claimed, citing the same anonymous sources. Izvestia also reported that the remnants of what was claimed to be a Kinzhal displayed by Kiev on May 10 might have belonged to another Russian missile – the 9M723 – launched by the ground-based short-range ballistic missile system Iskander-M. Some elements of the two missiles’ construction are similar, although the Iskander-M has been used much more frequently by Russian forces during the ongoing campaign in Ukraine, a military expert told reporters.
Ukraine routinely exaggerates the effectiveness of its anti-aircraft defenses, primarily ‘intercepting’ incoming Russian munitions only with public statements, Shoigu told RIA Novosti 16 May 2023. “I have already said that, and I will repeat it again. We have not launched as many Kinzhals as they allegedly shoot down every time with their statements. Moreover, the number of these ‘Ukrainian interceptions’ – and who really mans the American [anti-aircraft] complexes there, is still a big question – is three times as high as what we actually launch,†Shoigu stated.
Ukraine was subjected to a new missile and suicide drone barrage overnight 16 May 2023, with Kiev seeing particularly intense activity by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses, footage circulating online suggests. Moscow and Kiev provided drastically different accounts of what happened. Ukraine claimed that it had shot down six state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles over the capital, as well as other incoming projectiles, using a US-made Patriot air defense system. The Russian military, however, said the battery was hit by a Kinzhal missile.
Moscow-based military expert Alexey Leonkov was cited by Russian media as saying that the MIM-104 used all the ammunition in an attempt to shoot down the Kinzhal. He singled out a total of 32 Patriot missile interceptors that were fired from the SAM’s eight launchers in a bid to down the Kinzhal, but to no avail. "As a result, the Russian hypersonic missile destroyed the heart of the Patriot – a radar and a control center, something that has turned the SAM into a useless piece of military hardware. […] 32 missiles are a very massive round. The fact that the Patriot fired all those interceptors at the Kinzhal indicates the system's complete inefficiency in relation to the Russian hypersonic complex," Leonkov said. He added that the 32 interceptors being launched by the Patriot crew were "a gesture of desperation rather than the actions of professionals." Incidentally, launching one Patriot interceptor is worth a whopping three million dollars.
Three scientists of the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, who were engaged in the development of hypersonic missiles, were arrested one by one by the security forces under the high treason article. ITAM scientists were engaged in the experimental design of "Daggers" and the development of a coating that would withstand heat during flight at supersonic speeds. High treason consists in spying on a certain country - secret data on hypersonic missiles were transferred to it. The investigation, conducted by the publication, hints that espionage was in favor of a strategic partner - China.
On 16 May 2023, employees of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics published an open letter informing about the arrest on suspicion of treason of Valery Zvyagintsev, doctor of technical sciences and chief researcher who founded the laboratory of high-speed aerodynamics at the institute.
Zvehintsev had been under house arrest since 7 April. His supervisor, Aleksandr Shiplyuk, the Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, was placed in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention centre in August of last year, a few days after the arrest of Anatoly Maslov, the chief researcher. Both were charged under the same Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, high treason. Maslov was suspected of transferring data related to hypersonic technologies to China. Shiplyuk and Maslov has worked on hypersonic missiles for over 10 years. They presented an experimental design of such a weapon in 2012 at a scientific seminar in France. Four years later, the two scientists published a joint paper on aerodynamic research at hypersonic speeds. In total, 16 people were prosecuted in the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, known for its strong potential in physics and mathematics, including Aleksandr Aseev, the former head and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. One of the scientists, 54-year-old Dmytro Kolker, the head of the laboratory of quantum optical technologies at the Novosibirsk State University, died in the Moscow pre-trial detention centre shortly after his arrest by FSB officers.
But the connection between the arrested and Kinshal was not self evident. Boris Stern noted 19 May 2023 :Where did the meme come from that the planted Novosibirsk aerodynamicists are the developers of the "Dagger"? And in all seriousness indeed! Even the respected Ekaterina Shulman suspected, however, she nevertheless first asked the people - is this so? She was unanimously answered that not at all. The humor lies in the fact that the "Dagger" is slightly adapted for the air launch of the "Iskander", the latter laughed even under early Putin, and developed them at the Design Bureau near Moscow. Arrested aerodynamicists are, in fact, refined theorists - numerical calculation, the study of interesting effects in shock waves, etc. Their results are like an ordinary knife - you can cut bread, or you can stab someone. I'm not special, but I looked at the headlines of the articles of "traitors to the motherland".
Russia has a small reserve of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles – about 75 units – and they can produce no more than six of them per month. "As for Kinzhal missiles, their reserve is currently around 75 units. The Russians value these missiles very much not only because of their relatively small number but also because, according to our calculations, the enemy can produce no more than six units per month – at least that is what their plan provides," Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine told RBC-Ukraine in an interview 29 ASugust 2023.
According to him, due to limited stocks and production of certain types of missiles, Ukraine’s military intelligence sees how the tactics of Russian strikes are changing. "First of all, it is about alternating different classes of missiles. Second, the Russians are now more carefully selecting their targets and paying considerable attention to determining the flight paths of cruise missiles and UAVs in order to overcome our air defense systems. Third, they began to make decisions about strikes more quickly," Skibitsky said. He added that the Russian Federation was learning and starting to apply new approaches and tactics.
"And most likely, now the Russians are changing the method of selecting targets in our territory. The enemy is now studying our energy facilities, looking for their vulnerable places, and the location of our air defense systems. The Russians will analyze all this in order to choose the optimal routes for the launches," said the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence. According to him, the tactics and approach of the strikes will depend on how methodically and correctly Russia will identify critical objects for Ukraine. "We, for our part, will do everything possible to protect our facilities, detect preparations for strikes in a timely manner and, accordingly, give recommendations to our energy companies to prevent serious destruction," Skibitsky stressed.
The Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic air-lunched ballistic missile (ALBM) was deployed in early September 2023 by the Su-34 multirole supersonic combat aircraft in the ongoing special military operation. The Sukhoi Su-34 plane used the hypersonic Kinzhal missile in the course of the Ukraine conflict. The initial Russian service members who accomplished this mission were decorated with state honors. This hypersonic missile is normaly employed via the MiG-31K interceptor, a specialized aircraft specially modified for this mission. Furthermore, earlier reports indicate plans to equip Kinzhals on Tu-22M3 strategic and Su-34 fighter bombers.
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