The mission of Russia’s MiG-31K aircraft equipped with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles patrolling the airspace over the Black Sea will be to carry out instant strikes on launch systems with American ATACMS missiles identified by intelligence, according to a Russian military analyst.
“Such aircraft act as a platform for the hypersonic Kinzhals, which, once activated, can be used at any time for instant, virtually online, strikes against identified targets in the context of reported delivery of American ATACMS missile systems to Ukraine,” Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, told Sputnik.
He added that the Kinzhal hypersonic complex will be used as part of the reconnaissance strike contour, specifically tasked with timely identification of launchers, firing positions, and storage sites for ATACMS.
Military expert Alexei Leonkov agreed with Korotchenko's views.
“The Kinzhal-carrying MiG-31is initially a high-speed long-range interceptor, its main function is to reach the target interception area as swiftly as possible. In combination with the Kinzhal, this would make it possible to sharply reduce reaction time to identified positions of MLRS-type launchers, such as those used to release ATACMS," the expert said.
At the same time, Korotchenko did not rule out that there may be other patrol mission goals involved. The Kinzhal is, to a certain extent, a forward-deployed weapon, so it could be seen as a clear demonstration that Russia does not exclude any response options in the event of a specific political or military decision. We are aware that the Kinzhal can be used both in its conventional version and with special ordnance, ie a nuclear warhead, the analyst explained.
The primary task of the Kinzhal during the development stage was to face off against American aircraft carriers, Leonkov recalled.
“The high penetrating ability of even a conventional warhead of the Kinzhal mean only a few missiles are needed to sink a large ship. In the Black Sea, this could come in handy if aircraft carriers sailing under the Ukrainian flag and carrying naval drones are identified,” specified the expert.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered MiG-31 fighter jets packing Kinzhal missiles to be scrambled.
"According to my instructions, the Russian Aerospace Forces will begin patrolling the neutral zone of the airspace over the Black Sea on a regular basis. And our MiG-31 aircraft are armed with Kinzhal systems," Putin said during a press conference in Beijing, where he was attending the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF).
The Russian president also pointed out that this move is not a threat to anyone. Putin delivered these remarks hours after ATACMS missiles delivered by the US were used by the Kiev regime to attack the Russian port city of Berdyansk on the shores of the Sea of Azov which is connected to the Black Sea. Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, announced that M74 cluster submunitions were discovered at the site of a Ukrainian missile strike in Berdyansk suburbs.
The head of the Kiev regime Volodymyr Zelensky gloated over the use of ATACMS missiles by Ukrainian forces, writing online that the weapons had “performed very accurately,” as he thanked US President Joe Biden for the delivery. For months the US had hesitated about giving Ukraine the longer-range ATACMS over fears that Kiev would use them to strike inside Russia, further escalating the conflict. Over recent days, reports surfaced stating that the United States finally secretly shipped a small number of surface-to-surface missiles, boasting a a range of about 100 miles (160km), to Ukraine as part of the ongoing botched counteroffensive.
According to the Russian president, the delivery of ATACMS missiles from the United States to Ukraine, as in the case of other billions'-worth of military aid packages from NATO countries to Kiev, will only prolong the regime’s "agony."
"If they had not supplied weapons, they could have said in the future: well, if we had supplied everything we could, then the situation would have changed, but this would have led to unnecessary casualties … But they did it, and there will be no result. That's why it's a mistake. And, finally, nothing good for Ukraine in this sense either. No, it just prolongs the agony," Putin said.
Putin added that Russia is able to repel the ATACMS attacks, and that these missiles will not radically change the situation on the frontline of the Ukrainian conflict.
The oldest version of the ATACMS missiles with cluster warheads that the US provided to Ukraine will be of limited use because of their age, and Russian defense systems are well-adapted to deal with them, experts told Sputnik. They added that their impact on the failed Ukraine counteroffensive would be limited.