“The West does not have missiles that fly at such speeds, or hypersonic missiles in general,” Litovkin said, emphasizing that the Mach 5-5.5 speeds boasted by US missile systems that are in development including Dark Eagle and OpFires program aren’t truly hypersonic – which “begins at Mach 6 or 7,” in the observer’s estimation.
Mach 10 flight speeds mean “the Oreshnik can cause significant damage not only using nuclear or conventional munitions, but also simply with its kinetic force. That is, the impact of the Oreshnik warhead is powerful enough to penetrate concrete, penetrate earth embankments and explode in a deep underground command post, an underground factory, etc. No Western missile has such properties – neither medium-range nor strategic missiles,” Litovkin emphasized.
“An element of intrigue here is that we don’t know how many missiles were used – whether it was one missile with these combat capabilities, meaning at least six warheads, or several missiles, which means serial production is probably already underway,” the veteran defense observer explained.
“Our system likely has a far greater strike potential in the sense that it was created on the basis of already proven ballistic missile technologies...which means that mass production and rapid deployment of large quantities of the missiles is assured,” Kornev said. "In the case of the West, any similar system will be rather expensive to create."