"This is propaganda designed to reassure the American and European public that NATO countries are not lagging behind Russia technologically," Yuri Knutov, military expert and historian of the Air Defense Forces, told Sputnik.
He was responding to Western reports that the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system can intercept Russia's Oreshnik.
The expert explained why THAAD cannnot stop Oreshnik:
THAAD can technically hit targets flying at speeds up to Mach 14, but that only applies to targets in near space. At an altitude of 40 to 70 km, THAAD's capabilities are sharply reduced
The Oreshnik’s hypersonic warheads are surrounded by a bubble of plasma, which absorbs the signal from the interceptor's guidance radar – making them invisible to air defenses
THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles during their terminal phase of flight – but is not fast enough to detect, track and destroy the Oreshnik that approaches the target at hypersonic speed
Israel's Arrow 3 exoatmospheric hypersonic anti-ballistic missile system cannot intercept the Oreshnik either, given that it failed to shoot down Iran's Fatah-1 and Fatah-2 missiles – which are claimed to be hypersonic
The air defense capabilities of other Washington allies and partners are even poorer than those of the US and Israel – so no existing air defense system can stop Oreshnik