Russia has fired 5 Zircon missiles at Kyiv this year

What’s in today’s article?

● Why in News?

● What is Hypersonic weapon?

● What is Kinzhal?

● What is Zircon?

Why in News?

As per the Ukraine’s military administration, Russia has used five of its new hypersonic Zircon missiles to attack Kyiv since the start of the year.

Russia also fired 11 Kinzhal missiles, another hypersonic weapon which travels at several times the speed of sound.

What is Hypersonic weapon?

About

• They are normally defined as fast, low-flying, and highly manoeuvrable weapons designed to be quick and agile for traditional missile defence systems to detect in time.
• Unlike ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons don’t follow a predetermined, arched trajectory and can manoeuvre on the way to their destination.
• The term hypersonic describes any speed faster than five times that of sound, which is roughly 760 miles (1,220 km) per hour at sea level.
  • On the other hand, a supersonic missile travels at the speed between Mach 1 and Mach 5.
• At hypersonic speeds, the air molecules around the flight vehicle start to change, breaking apart or gaining a charge in a process called ionization.
  • This subjects the hypersonic missiles to tremendous stresses as it pushes through the atmosphere.

Types of hypersonic weapons

• There are two main types of these weapons – glide vehicles and cruise missiles.
• Glide missiles are launched from a rocket before gliding to their targets. This is because of the challenges of achieving hypersonic propulsion of missiles.
• The missiles have engines called scramjets that use the air’s oxygen and produce thrust during their flight, allowing them to cruise at a steady speed and altitude.

Countries having hypersonic weapons

• US, China and Russia have the most advanced capabilities.
• Several other countries are investigating the technology, including India, Japan, Australia, France.
• North Korea claims to have tested a hypersonic missile.

India and hypersonic weapon

• India is closing in on having such weapons in its arsenal.
• In 2020, India successfully tested its hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV), powered by a scramjet engine.
• The HSTDV will serve as a crucial building block in the development of long-range hypersonic weapons, which will take another four to five years to become a reality.

What is Kinzhal?

• Kinzhal is an air-launched hypersonic missile with a reported range of 1,500-2,000 km.
• This missile can fly at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems.
  • Following launch, the Kinzhal rapidly accelerates to Mach 4 (4,900 km/h), and may reach speeds up to Mach 10 (12,350 km/h).
  • The speed of the missile, combined with its erratic flight trajectory and high manoeuvrability, could complicate interception.
• It can carry nuclear payload of 480 kg. This is 33 times the yield of the Fat Man bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

What is Zircon?

• According to Russia, the sea-based Zircon missiles have a range of 1,000 km and travel at nine times the speed of sound.
  • If Russia’s claims are true, the Zircon missile could evade the advanced US Patriot air defence system.
  • This is because, hypersonic speed could greatly reduced reaction time for air defences.
• Basically, Zircon is a hypersonic cruise missile that is powered by a scramjet engine.
  • Scramjet engine uses the flow of air at supersonic speeds, compressed by the forward motion of the missile, to drive it forward.
• It reportedly carries a 300-kilogram warhead.

Q.1. What is hypersonic?

Hypersonic means moving at or exceeding five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5 and above. For example, sound has a Mach 1, while Mach 5 is about 3,800 miles (6,116 km) per hour.

Q.2. What is scramjet?

A scramjet, or supersonic combustion ramjet, is a propulsion system for hypersonic vehicles that uses hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the atmosphere as oxidizers. It is a variant of the ramjet airbreathing jet engine, which uses the vehicle's forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion.

Source: Ukraine says Russia has fired 5 Zircon missiles at Kyiv this year

Hindustan Times

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