The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (''Dagger'') is a hypersonic ballistic missile, which is in the arsenal of the Russian Aerospace Forces since 2017. It is nuclear capable and it can reach a distance between 2,000 and 3,000 km, using the Mikoyan MiG-31K, the Tupolev Tu-22M3, and the Tu-160M bombers as its launching platforms. Once launched, the missile is almost impossible to intercept, due to its extremely high speed of Mach 10 and the erratic flight trajectory it follows as it homes in on the target. It was first fired in anger on March 19, 2022, to strike a large munition depot near the town of Delyatin, in Southwestern Ukraine.
Known by NATO as AS-24 Killjoy, the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is able to carry either a conventional payload or a nuclear warhead. It was developed to attack and neutralized enemy command posts, telecommunication centers, missile defense systems, and airbases. It can penetrate deep into the earth as no underground bunkers can guarantee safety from its devastating explosion. It also has an uncanny ability to penetrate enemy defenses without being picked up by enemy radars, being able to hit both static targets and mobile ones, such as warships. During the Russian-Ukrainian War, the Kinzhal was also used to strike targets in the port of Odessa, on the Black Sea.
Specifications
Type: medium-range, air-launched ballistic missile.
Weight: 4,300 kg (9,500 pounds)
Warhead: 500 kg
Length: 7.2 m (23 feet, 7 inches)
Diameter: 1.2 m or 120 cm (47 inches)
Wing Span: 1.6 m (5 feet, 3 inches)
Power Plant: solid-propellant rocket engine
Maximum Speed: Mach 10
Guidance: inertial navigation system
Steering System: four cropped delta fins
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| Above, schematic picture of the Kh-47M2, with technical specifications data. |
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| A MiG-31 aircraft armed with a Kinzhal missile. |
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile in action (video)
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