Russia’s ‘hypersonic’ missiles rely on foreign parts, stocks depleted – report

The Jerusalem Post reports: “The decreased intensity of the Russian missile attacks against Ukraine in July is the result of a dependency on foreign components for missile production, a representative of the Intelligence Directorate in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told RBC Ukraine in an interview.

The representative, Vadym Skibitsky, explained that this is especially true for the production of the Kinzhal (‘dagger’ in Russian) missiles, which the Russians claim are hypersonic.

The Kinzhal is an air-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear or conventional warheads with a reported range of 1,500 to 2,000 km while carrying a payload of 480 kg. It may reach speeds of up to Mach 10 and is one of six ‘next generation’ weapons unveiled by President Vladimir Putin in a speech in March 2018. 

‘The largest number of foreign components, on which Russia critically depends, [are found] in two products, the Iskander and the Kinzhal: about fifty components of the electronic base in these missiles are of foreign production,’ said Skibitsky…”

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