Shoigu said that Russia has used hypersonic missiles "Dagger" three times in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu said that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation used hypersonic missiles "Dagger" three times in Ukraine.
He also noted the security of the Su-57 aircraft from air defense systems and spoke about the vulnerability of Western weapons supplied to Kiev.
"Brilliant characteristics"
Sergei Shoigu said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel that the Dagger hypersonic missile was used three times during a military special operation in Ukraine. And "she showed her brilliant characteristics three times." According to him, no such rocket in the world has such characteristics.
"Actually, no one has such a rocket yet: both hypersonic, and with such speed, and with such penetrating capabilities. It is impossible to detect or intercept it," the minister stressed.
The head of the defense Department noted that the Dagger missile strikes "particularly important targets" during a military special operation. At the same time, Shoigu added, "it is virtually impossible to take it."
He recalled that the Dagger missiles are capable of reaching speeds of more than 10 Mach. Along the way, they can also change the trajectory in both vertical and horizontal planes.
Shoigu also praised the Su-57 aircraft, noting its protection from various air defense systems.
"There are a lot of things there, and, most importantly, very, very powerful weapons. We have also tried and tested these weapons, they work brilliantly," he said.
The study of captured weapons Sergei Shoigu said that Russian experts are carefully studying captured Western weapons transferred to Ukraine.
He assured that they already know how to deal with him.
"Our science and our industry are engaged in it. We look from two sides. The first is the possibilities of fighting these weapons, how and what can be opposed to them. On the other hand, what can it be hit with, its main drawbacks. This work is underway, and it is, in general, quite successful," the minister explained.
Shoigu also spoke about the shortcomings of Western weapons. In particular, he mentioned the transported M-777 howitzer, foreign multiple rocket launchers, NLAW, JAVELIN anti-tank complexes, Stingers MANPADS and a number of small arms. According to him, the M-777 howitzers proved to be "very capricious" and heavily repaired. In his opinion, the same statement is true for the JAVELIN anti-tank complex.
"We have learned to deal with them, we know them, understand them, see them. But it has a firing range almost two times lower than that of our Cornet. For that matter, I can't miss the opportunity to advertise our weapons. This also applies to MANPADS, this also applies to our anti-tank systems," the head of the Russian defense ministry added.
Three applications of the air-based Dagger missile are the newest type of strategic weapons.
According to open sources, the Dagger complexes have been on experimental combat duty in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since December 2017. On March 19, the official representative of the Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov spoke about the first use of a missile system in Ukraine.
"On the eighteenth of March, the Dagger aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse of missiles and aviation ammunition of the Ukrainian troops in the settlement of Delyatin in the Ivano-Frankivsk region," he said at a briefing.
Konashenkov added that Russia will continue to use "Daggers" in Ukraine. Later, a representative of the defense department said that the strike by the Dagger hypersonic missile on the arsenal in Ukraine was carried out from a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, and "the flight time of the hypersonic missile was less than 10 minutes."
According to him, "due to hypersonic speed and ultra-high kinetic energy, the warhead of the Dagger missile complex destroyed a protected underground arsenal located in a mountainous area, built back in Soviet times to store special ammunition and missiles."
On March 21, the official representative of the defense department clarified that not only the Ukrainian underground protected storages for the Tochka-U missile systems were destroyed, but also "large fuel depots in Konstantinovka, Mykolaiv region."
"The combat use of the Dagger aviation missile system has confirmed its effectiveness in destroying highly protected special enemy facilities," Konashenkov stressed.
On April 11, he said at a briefing that "in the area of the settlement of Chas Yar, Donetsk region, the Dagger aviation missile system destroyed a buried, well-protected command post of the grouping of Ukrainian troops in the Donbas."
However, US officials in March downplayed the merits of the "Daggers". For example, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that he did not consider the use of the Dagger to be "some kind of turning point."
A few days later, Pentagon press Secretary John Kirby said it was "difficult to understand what exactly justified" the first launch, since it was aimed at a stationary storage facility. In his opinion, "this is a pretty serious blow to such a goal."
And US President Joe Biden said at a meeting with representatives of American business that the Dagger missile "has the same warhead as any other missile." There is no big difference, except that it is almost impossible to stop it," the American leader said.
Maria Shustrova
