The penetrating warhead is capable of destroying command posts, massive buildings and the underground infrastructure of the enemy.
Western sources report the use of a new type of Iskander-M missiles with a penetrating warhead by the Russian Armed Forces in the zone of a special military operation. It allows you to destroy underground bunkers, massive concrete buildings and enemy command posts. Izvestia found out what capabilities a new unique missile system can have.
The new Iskander-M missile
Western observers and representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the other day that the Russian Armed Forces began using 9M723F3 ballistic missiles of the 9K720 Iskander-M complex, equipped with new penetrating warheads. The enemy showed fragments of a warhead in a steel case resembling a large-caliber artillery shell. Information about the use of such warheads was confirmed by Izvestia sources familiar with the situation.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces demonstrated a similar ammunition more than a year ago. This story was widely covered in the Ukrainian media and telegram channels. At that time, the type of warhead of the Dagger air complex did not seem to the expert community like a hypersonic projectile and was not taken seriously. Absolutely in vain.
MiG-31 multirole fighter with Kinzhal hypersonic missile
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Nikolsky
The fact is that for the most part, the warhead is located inside the rocket and can seriously differ in its geometric contours and shape from the body. Therefore, the very "projectile" that was shown in Kiev at that time could indeed be a penetrating warhead of a hypersonic Dagger.
Such a warhead is located inside a streamlined body and, at the moment of falling, continues to move by inertia into the depth of the structure or soil. At a speed of about 950-1150 m/s, such a warhead can penetrate tens of meters into soft ground. If it enters a building, it can break through concrete slabs and explode inside the protected area.
Attacks are carried out on command posts and underground infrastructure of the enemy
Modern ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M and Dagger complexes have a high accuracy of hitting objects — the miss can range from 1-2 to 8-10 meters, and with this accuracy it becomes possible to deliver a high-precision decapitating strike, for example, at an enemy underground command post or at a protected bunker in which some kind of military facility is deployed. infrastructure.
Iskander-M missile system
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Press Service of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy
Such strikes are especially sensitive and effective when rocket launchers interact with real-time intelligence. It is conducted within the framework of reconnaissance and strike complexes, in which intelligence structures directly transmit information to the command and staff vehicles of missile divisions, where information about targets is prepared and flight assignments for missiles are formed.
Modern technologies make it possible to reduce to a few minutes the time from detecting, for example, the HIMARS launcher to striking it. And here ballistic missiles have an undeniable advantage — high flight speed. Even if the enemy detects a missile launch with the help of space or air means, he will not have time to withdraw his equipment or military formation from under attack.
Is it possible to shoot down a ballistic missile
Technically, this is possible, but it is extremely difficult to shoot down a modern ballistic missile — this requires anti-aircraft systems with anti-missile capabilities, and there are few such in the world.
Iskander-M missile system
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Ankov
The fact is that the Iskander-M and Dagger missiles are aeroballistic and can maneuver in the atmospheric section of the flight. And that's why even the Ukrainian Armed Forces admit that if cruise missiles have a probability of interception of about 50%, then for modern Russian ballistic missiles it is only 4%.
By the way, there is even less chance of hitting supersonic missiles like the X-22 — about 0.55%. And then the APU notes that in order to achieve such indicators, a significant consumption of ammunition for Patriot-type anti-aircraft systems is required, that is, several anti-missiles are usually launched per missile. And, by the way, only Patriots can, in principle, shoot down ballistic missiles of these types. And the Ukrainians have limited stocks of missiles for them.
Shock operations of the Russian Armed Forces
The Russian Armed Forces vary in the use of missiles of different classes during strike operations. The capabilities of the Iskander-M modular missile system are also fully demonstrated here — the complex can use not only 9M723 ballistic missiles, but also 9M728 cruise missiles.
Launch of the Iskander-M tactical missile system ballistic missile
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Stringer
Cruise missiles are used against targets that are not protected by a powerful air defense system, while ballistic missiles are the opposite. And ballistics is especially needed to destroy enemy air defense systems.
The traditional high-explosive warhead "Iskander-M" weighing 480 kg is effective in defeating air defense systems in protected positions, as it allows you to destroy the launcher or radar, which are protected by caponiers. But a cluster warhead with 54 combat elements is very effective when working on targets in open terrain. Moreover, it can be almost any lightly armored targets or personnel. The area covered by one such warhead is comparable to the area of a stadium. Cluster munition is effective against deployed Patriot-type air defense systems.
Dmitry Kornev
