Sign In
Learn bits
World Affairs
Mahesh

12/03/23 10:42 AM IST

Hypersonic missiles

In News
  • Russia unleashed its biggest aerial strike against Ukraine in weeks, hitting critical infrastructure or residential buildings in 10 regions and killing at least nine people.
Hypersonic Missile
  • A hypersonic missile, such as Kinzhal, is capable of flying at least at the speed of Mach 5, i.e. five times the speed of sound, and is manoeuvrable.
  • The manoeuvrability of the hypersonic missile is what differentiates it from a ballistic missile, as the latter follows a set course or a ballistic trajectory.
  • Thus, unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles do not follow a ballistic trajectory and can be manoeuvred to the intended target.
  • This makes them extremely lethal because by the time they are detected by ground-based radars, they are already quite near to their target.
  • There are two types of hypersonic weapons systems: Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGV) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles.
  • The HGVs are fired from a rocket before gliding to the intended target while the hypersonic cruise missile is powered by air-breathing high-speed engines or ‘scramjets’ after acquiring their target.
Benefits
  • These weapons can enable responsive, long-range strike options against distant, defended or time-critical threats (such as road mobile missiles) when other forces are unavailable, denied access or not preferred. 
  • Conventional hypersonic weapons use only kinetic energy i.e. energy derived from motion, to destroy unhardened targets or even underground facilities
Kinzhal
  • Unveiled in 2018, Kinzhal, according to the Russians, is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 10 and greater, with a range of about 1,250 miles.
  • The missile is also believed to be nuclear-capable and usually launched by MiG-31 warplanes.
  • Apart from Kinzal, Moscow reportedly has two other types of hypersonic missile systems.
  • One is the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which can fly at speeds as high as Mach 27, as per Russian officials. And the other is the Zircon anti-ship missile.
Source- Indian Express

More Related Current Affairs View All

23 Sep

Quad grouping

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the United States, where he will participate in the fourth Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware.' Quad s the grouping of four de

Read More

21 Sep

India Achieves Tier 1 Status in Global Cybersecurity Index 2024

' India has secured Tier 1 status in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2024, published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).' The GCI is a comprehensive assessm

Read More

21 Sep

A new White Revolution

'Operation Flood, launched in 1970, ushered in the White Revolution and transformed the dairy sector in India.' Dairy cooperatives procured 660 lakh kg of milk per day in 2023-2

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps