When it comes to military power, Russia is a global powerhouse to be reckoned with. Five months ago, the country's Ministry of Defense shocked the world when it revealed that it would be launching the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile against Ukraine.

However, weapon experts are quick to figure out that this threat is not something that everybody should worry about. According to them, the Kinzhal missile is not considered a hypersonic missile in today's standards.

What is a Hypersonic Missile?

(Photo : Clark Gu from Unsplash)
The Kinzhal hypersonic missile is just existing in the guise of being a ballistic armament.

Nowadays, the hypersonic weapons fall into two classifications which are hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV).

As a reference, HGV can be compared to the usual intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs. Once the operator deploys the glider, it will then zoom towards the sky and fall until it hits its target.

Meanwhile, the hypersonic cruise missile relies on the supersonic combustion ramjet where in the air will quickly flow to a ramjet engine, according to Interesting Engineering.

Russia's Kinzhal Missile is Not Hypersonic in Nature

The most active countries when it comes to nuclear weapon technology such as China, North Korea, and Russia have been showing off their military prowess by launching huge missiles off the coast.

One of the most interesting weapons at present is the hypersonic missile which is five times faster than the speed of sound. It's super-fast that it can strike a target within seconds upon release.

The Ukraine conflict is all over the global headlines in the past few months. Many people feared that Russia might nuke the country with even more powerful missiles and that includes the Kinzhal missile.

However, experts recently found out that Russia's Kinzhal does not belong to the hypersonic class, Business Insider reported. Although it can travel at over Mach 5 speed, there's more to know about this category.

What Type of Missile is Kinzhal?

The Kh-47M2 is actually an air-launched ballistic missile. It's an outdated weapon that was used back in the Soviet Union era.

The inspiration behind Kinzhal is the 9K720 Iskander, which is a short-range ballistic missile. The country has made several improvements to make it more modern. It also added a new guidance system as part of the modification process.

Related Article: Russia Zircon Hypersonic Missile Completes Test-Here's How Efficient This Cruise Rocket Is

Russia is Bluffing the Whole World

From the get-go, Russia is aware that Kinzhal is short of becoming a legitimate hypersonic weapon, per Sandboxx report. However, since many people have little to no knowledge about war equipment, it's easier to fool the public about its true state.

The country has been heavily investing to craft its weaponry since then. It is allocating an annual budget of $60 billion for military weapons alone.

With the geopolitical tensions all over the place, Russia is more than prepared to retaliate when the surge arises. Declaring a ballistic missile to be a hypersonic missile is just one of its tactics to drive away intruders from its territory.

Read Also: US Navy's Hypersonic Missile Integration To Enhance Zumwalt Class Destroyer!

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Written by Joseph Henry