(by Franco Iacch) This morning the Russian Defense Ministry released a video and confirmed the test. As I wrote earlier, Russia's new anti-ship hypersonic missile could be a launched variant of the 9K720 Iskander ballistic system. And beyond anti-ship capabilities, the missile would be capable of hitting any fixed target within its range. The dimensions of the Kinzhal, about 8 meters long with a central body diameter of about one meter, are also similar to the Iskander. However, the Kinzhal features a less pronounced front section, smaller control surfaces and implements a new booster compared to the single stage configuration of the Iskander. Unlike what was shown on March 31st, the missile's control surfaces are obscured in the new video. Moscow confirms the destruction (not shown) of the target, but the video is mainly dedicated to the MiG-31 rather than the Kinzhal. The MiG-2000 will serve as the first stage by accelerating the missile to a predetermined altitude that will allow for a strategic range of 110 km. The modernization of the Foxhound fleet is expected to be completed within the next year for a total of 31 MiG-XNUMX upgraded to the BM standard.
