Historic milestone - Ukrainian Air Force shoots down first Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile, which can reach speeds of over 12,000km/h

The Ukrainian Air Force has shot down the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile for the first time. The day before, the Ukrainian media published a photo of the destroyed missile. Today, on 6 May, the Air Force officially confirmed the information. The missile was shot down over Kyiv on the night of May 4.

Here's What We Know

The Russian army has long been using Kh-47 and Kh-22 missiles. Previously, Ukraine's air defence system was unable to shoot them down. With the receipt of the MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 surface-to-air missile systems, the situation is set to change.

One of the pictures shows the nose fairing, which is as similar as possible to the one used in the Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles. The nose fairing of the Iskander and Kh-22 missiles has a different shape. You can see them in the pictures below.

The Kh-47 Kinzhal is considered a hypersonic missile, but there is a nuance. It is based on the Iskander operational-tactical ballistic missile and can indeed reach a speed of over Mach 5 (6174 km/h). Moreover, it has a maximum flight speed of Mach 10 (more than 12,000 km/h).

However, the Kh-47 Kinzhal cannot maintain hypersonic speed over its entire range. In the terminal phase of flight, the missile attacks the target on a ballistic trajectory and the speed drops below Mach 5. The maximum launch range is 2000-3000 km, depending on the launch vehicle. So, that's why Kh-47 Kinzhal is more like an air launched ballistic missile than a hypersonic one.

Source: @MykolaOleshchuk