The Armed Forces of Ukraine may have shot down a hypersonic missile Kh-47M2 Kinzhal for the first time, according to Defence Express. The publication reports that on the night of May 4, a missile, possibly of a ballistic type, was shot down over Kyiv. Journalists have obtained photos of the fragments of the destroyed target and claim that it is indeed the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by the MiG-31K fighter.
Defence Express explains that the thing is that Kinzhal is hypersonic only in the fantasies of russian nationalists, it does accelerate to hypersonic speeds due to its booster but cannot maintain such speed constantly. The journalists also remind that Ukraine has officially received means to counter such targets – the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems.
Earlier, Mind reported that the second division of the Patriot air defense system had already taken up combat duty, performing combat work in one of the directions.