Russia has deployed some of its feared hypersonic ballistic missiles to Belarus, according to U.K. intelligence.
The AS-24 Killjoy, or “Kinzhal,” is seen by many as the pride of the Russian military, being one area in which Russia possibly surpasses the capabilities of the United States. The missile, launched from a MiG-31K fighter, is nearly impossible to intercept due to its hypersonic speed, can carry either a conventional or nuclear payload, and has a range of around 1,240 miles, according to an analysis from the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
The purpose of the alleged deployment of the advanced missiles to Belarus is debated, with the most prominent theories portraying it as a warning to the West, a way to further bring Belarus into the war in Ukraine, or as a sign that it could further increase its missile strikes into Ukraine, which has battered its infrastructure in recent weeks.
RUSSIAN TROOPS POUR INTO BELARUS ‘BY THE TRAINLOAD’
“Russia has fielded KILLJOY since 2018, but it has not previously been deployed in Belarus. Russia has occasionally launched these weapons during the Ukraine war, but stocks are likely very limited,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense claimed in an intelligence update on the war in Ukraine.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 1 November 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/ohQH7fYyqM
?? #StandWithUkraine ?? pic.twitter.com/Q9WxS4UKza
— Ministry of Defence ?? (@DefenceHQ) November 1, 2022
The Killjoy can reach a speed of as high as Mach 10 and was apparently designed to take out “high-value targets” such as missile defense installations and carrier groups, according to the NTI. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself even bragged about the missiles’ capabilities during a 2018 address.
“The missile flying at a hypersonic speed, 10 times faster than the speed of sound, can also maneuver at all phases of its flight trajectory, which also allows it to overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads in a range of over [1,243 miles],” he said.
▫️Destruction of a weapons depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by high-precision missile weapons strike. We can see the exact hit of an underground hangar with weapons and ammunition. pic.twitter.com/sKTF46Tdb0
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) March 19, 2022
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The first combat use of the missile was to destroy an underground weapon storage facility back in March, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced. However, the missile’s deployment has been limited throughout the conflict in Ukraine, and the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense had previously assessed its use was “unlikely to materially affect the outcome of Russia’s campaign.”
Ukraine’s limited missile defense systems means other less advanced missiles can perform the tasks intended for the hypersonic missile, which is intended to destroy NATO air defenses and carrier groups.
