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The fact that DPRK got hypersonic weapons before US will never stop being hilarious (www.ctvnews.ca)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But Kinzhal isn't a "real" hypersonic missile because it doesn't maneuver and change trajectory while at hypersonic speeds. That's why it is possible to intercept it at the last moment when it is on its way to the target.

I was also skeptical about their claims, but I am inclined to believe them because they say they shot down one a year ago. A situation where stars align, similar to Serbs shooting down a "stealth" F-117A in 1999 using a Soviet S-300 system.

Russia hasn't used their whole arsenal in Ukraine, they haven't used their "glide" hypersonic missiles, the ones that maneuver while hypersonic and can't be intercepted by Western AA. Those are the ones that can reach EU capitals within 5 minutes to deliver a nuclear warhead.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

If the Patriots failed to shoot down Scuds designed in the 1950s, no way in hell they’re ever going to intercept a Kinzhal:

Governments have overstated the effectiveness of missile defenses in the past, including against Scuds. During the first Gulf War, the United States claimed a near-perfect record in shooting down Iraqi variants of the Scud. Subsequent analyses found that nearly all the interceptions had failed.

Intercepting a missile is not the same as an airplane that flies at a much slower speed and a much larger target.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

Actually, the F-117A was shot down in part because when its bomb bay doors were open it can be seen on radar, and Serbs knew where it was going to be flying because the bombers followed the same flight path on every run.

I never said Patriots can reliably shoot down kinzhals, I said that it is possible to get a lucky hit when the kinzhal is on its final approach to target, when it flies at subsonic speeds.