The Russian Aerospace Forces publicly will display its new air-launched ballistic missile, called the Kinzhal, for the first time during the grand Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9.
Russia is going to unveil its new KH-47M2 Kinzhal (Dagger) precision-guided ballistic missile launches from the MiG-31 interceptor aircraft at the vast Victory Parade on May 9 to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany. A pair of Russia’s modified MiG-31BM supersonic interceptor aircraft with a mass-scale model of the hypersonic rocket will fly for the first time over Moscow’s Red Square during the Victory Parade on May 9, the RG.ru announced on 15 April.
In an interview with a TASS on 1 March, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Force Colonel General Sergei Surovikin has revealed some details of the new KH-47M2 Kinzhal complex.
More: Russian bombers to get longer-range hypersonic missiles
According to Sergei Surovikin, the new Russian KH-47M2 Kinzhal has been developed on the basis of the upgraded Mikoyan MiG-31 aircraft. The new system designed for a strike at targets at a distance of over 2,000 km that allows manned aircraft remain at a safe distance.
More: Ukraine develops hypersonic cruise missile
According to Russian industry sources, the Kinzhal is based on the 9M723-1F variant of the 9M723-1 missile – as used by the 9K720 Iskander-M short-range road-mobile ballistic missile system – and modified for air-launch without major changes in its architecture.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov has confirmed that Kinzhal missiles are capable of hitting both stationary and moving targets, including enemy aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers.
The length of the KH-47M2 is about three meters, externally it is distinguished by the air intake of the ramjet air-jet engine projecting at the bottom – a similar configuration is used on the latest strategic missiles KH-101. The speed of the new missile exceeds 4 Mach. One of the carriers of the new weapon also will be the Su-57 fighter.