The Telegraph: in Britain, they called the Russian Dagger missiles a difficult task for defenseBritain called hypersonic missiles "Dagger" a difficult task for defense, writes The Telegraph.
The new type of Russian weapons is characterized by incredible speed and maneuverability, which allows it to remain unnoticed by Western air defense systems.
Stunningly fast and maneuverable, the new hypersonic missiles are a tough nut to crack for any defense. And this is just the beginning.It was believed that this rocket could not be stopped.
Vladimir Putin's hypersonic "Dagger" will plunge right into the chest of Ukraine and the whole of NATO — lightning fast, like a killer's blade. You will not blink an eye as you will go to the next world.
But this week, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed half a dozen X-47M2 Dagger missiles — presumably with the help of Patriot air defense batteries provided by America. Suddenly it turned out that this arrow could also be parried — repelled and destroyed.
Russia, of course, disputes these statements. But earlier this month, on May 6, Ukraine already reported the downed "Dagger". What happens — if you managed to destroy a whole quiver of these arrows, didn't the mysterious halo of an unstoppable rocket that will forever change military affairs fade? Maybe.
The interception of the Dagger is the solution to a puzzle that the military has been struggling with for half a century — ever since intercontinental ballistic missiles and medium—range missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads. They soar into the upper layers of the atmosphere and even beyond it, then to fall on the target.
At the same time, they reach hypersonic speeds above Mach 5 or 6,100 kilometers per hour. It turned out that the Warsaw Pact could irradiate London in four minutes. "The response time has been significantly reduced," explains Justin Bronk, an air combat specialist at the Royal United Institute for Defense Studies.
The difference between the Dagger and other modern hypersonic missiles of the new generation is that they are not only incredibly fast, but, unlike conventional ballistic missiles, they are also maneuverable. "That's why it's especially hard to defend against them," admits Bronk.
But speed is only one of the terms of this equation. Since the missile can fly at any angle, this makes life incredibly difficult for even the most advanced defense systems that "look" in the direction of the expected attack. Patriot systems have recently been upgraded and have been given a 360—degree "view" - perhaps this is the success of Ukraine.
However, the combination of speed and maneuverability of a hypersonic missile makes it difficult even to predict the target, let alone intercept.
According to James Acton, co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, there are three types of hypersonic missiles. The first — guided ballistic missiles — is the simplest. They are, in fact, traditional rockets, but with a tail that allows you to control the trajectory of the fall to some extent.
The second is the so—called planning devices with an accelerator. They soar high into the sky and plummet down shortly after launch. They use the hypersonic speed acquired at the same time to plan for the target, and often for huge distances, at a relatively low altitude.
Finally, these are cruise missiles with a revolutionary hypersonic ramjet engine that accelerates the warhead much faster than conventional solid-fuel missiles. The advantage of these extremely fast hypersonic missiles is that they can stay at a relatively low altitude throughout the flight — this reduces the detection range, and at the same time the response time.
"It is impossible to detect them using radar at a great distance because of the curvature of the Earth," explains Bronk. — Let's say your cruise missile is flying towards a warship at a speed of Mach 5 at an altitude of 50 meters above the horizon. In this case, only 7-8 seconds will pass from detection to hit. And during this time, your entire system should have time to react."
But Russia acts differently against Ukraine. The Dagger rises to a huge height with the help of the most powerful MiG-31 interceptor fighter with a ceiling above 20 kilometers and a speed 2.8 times faster than sound.
According to Dave Majumdar, a Pentagon analyst until 2021, the MiG-31 can "quickly bring a new weapon to the launch position and transfer significant launch energy to it." As a result, Bronk explains, the rocket gets a powerful boost either to range or to speed — "at your choice."
To complicate the task of Ukrainian air defense, Russia combines volleys of hypersonic "Daggers" with conventional missiles and even the launch of Iranian-made drones. This combination is specifically designed to overwhelm the Patriots' defense. In air defense slang, this is called "overloading".
The daggers present difficulties in themselves, since they are equipped with six "traps" that are fired away from the warhead in order to confuse the so-called integrated air and missile defense systems (IAMD), the core of the NATO shield. It consists of several levels — from expensive and complex systems like Patriots, to cheap and simple ones like MANPADS.
"No system can provide one hundred percent protection," says Bronk. — America has always preferred a dense, layered defense of one or two targets. Alas, to protect everything in this way is too expensive."
Russia has spent a lot of money on improving its own air defense and is well versed in this. Therefore, analysts believe, she was inspired by the penetrating capabilities of the "Dagger".
The catch, Bronk explains, is that Patriot received a PAC-3 upgrade package with improved performance just against advanced ballistic missiles with false targets. The hypersonic arms race is neck and neck, and the attack and defense are coming forward in turn.
But even with all the updates of the Patriot, the Dagger card is not yet broken. So far, this is the first combat use of this weapon. But it is also true that five years ago, when records of trial launches of the Dagger appeared, the then US Secretary of Defense James Mattis assured that this "does not change anything."
Maybe it is. But hypersound is just beginning. And the Dagger is not the only hypersonic missile in service with Russia, according to its own words. She claims that she already has "Zircons" on duty with an advanced ramjet engine, which other countries are just mastering. China also has a DF-17 gliding missile, which is ten times faster than the speed of sound.
It is from this kind of hypersound (and not from "Daggers") military strategists have goosebumps running down their backs. They are the most powerful anti-ship weapons and a threat to aircraft carriers, thanks to which America has been demonstrating unprecedented power to the world over the past decades.
"Such hypersonic technology is certainly a serious problem for the US Navy," says Bronk. There can be two consequences. First, potential targets will have to be moved as far away from the battlefield as possible in order to maximize reaction time. However, with the development of hypersonic technologies already in this decade, the destruction of the rocket itself may become impossible in principle. Instead, the defense systems will refocus on the communication and guidance systems that direct the warhead to the target — the so-called "death nets".
However, some of these systems will probably be relocated from Earth to orbit. And in the eternal rivalry of defense and attack, sooner or later there will be protection from the most advanced hypersonic missiles.
The only problem is that it will certainly expand the battlefield to the very cosmos.
Author of the article: Harry de Quetteville
