Patriot air defence system intercepted two Russian "Zircon" hypersonic missiles over Kyiv. VIDEO
The Russian myth about the "elusiveness" of hypersonic weapons has once again been shattered by the professionalism of Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners and the reliability of American systems. According to Censor.NET, during another attack on the capital, air defence forces destroyed two of the latest Russian 3M22 "Zircon" missiles. A video showing the successful work of Ukrainian air defence forces has been published online.
Technical battle: Patriot vs. Zircon
Despite the "space-age" characteristics claimed by the Kremlin, the Patriot systems successfully engaged their targets.
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Speed: Although the Zircon can reach speeds of up to 8-9Mach in the march section, in the final stage, when approaching the target ,it drops to 3-4.5Mach. This makes it vulnerable to advanced missile defence systems.
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Manoeuvrability: The claimed hyper-manoeuvrability at hypersonic speeds turned out to be an exaggeration — the missile moves along a predictable ballistic trajectory.
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Warhead: The warhead weighs about 300-400kg, which, when directly hit by a Patriot interceptor missile, leads to the complete annihilation of the target in the air.
| Characteristics | Claimed by the Russian Federation | Reality (Armed Forces of Ukraine) |
| Final velocity | 9 Mach | 3.5 – 4.5 Mach |
| Range | 1000 km | ~700 km |
| Possibility of being shot down | Impossible | Can be shot down Patriot / SAMP/T |
Consequences and significance
The destruction of the Zircons not only saved the lives of Kyiv residents, but also finally refuted the propaganda claims that Russia allegedly possesses weapons against which there is no defence.
