Ukrainian Armed Forces shoot down Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile PHOTO

The Ukrainian Armed Forces may have shot down a Russian Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile for the first time on the night of May 4 in the skies over Kyiv.

According to Defense Express, journalists suggest that such a ballistic target was probably shot down by Patriot air defence. The publication obtained photos of the wreckage, namely the nose fairing with traces of the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile, which the Russians tried to hit Kyiv with on May 4.

Judging by the photo, the wreckage without the warhead fell on a stadium within Kyiv. One of the photos shows a nose fairing that is as similar as possible to the one used specifically in the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile with a complex shape of sharp diameter transitions.

At the same time, the alternative in the form of the X-22 has a different nose piece with oval transitions. The fairing of the hit missile also differs from the Iskander ballistic missile, which is "thicker".

The debris shows that it has been hit with a puncture wound, which gives an estimate of the thickness of the material needed to withstand the high temperature during acceleration to hypersonic speeds. It also indicates that the intercept was quite effective with the destruction of the warhead still in the air.

The publication also reports that while the Kinzhal accelerates to hypersonic speeds through the booster, it cannot maintain that speed at all times. Already in the terminal section, that is, during an attack, it approaches the target behind a ballistic trajectory and has a high but far from hypersonic velocity.