“To shoot down maneuvering hypersonic targets, [the Americans] would need to develop their own guided hypersonic technology, and then learn how to shoot it down, once they have an experimental or industrial prototype. In other words, they need to develop the weapon first, and then a counterweapon. But they have neither; everything is still in the development stage,” Leonkov explained.
US and allied countries’ systems like Patriot, THAAD and Arrow can shoot down ballistic missile targets flying at hypersonic speeds along trajectories, but maneuverability, not speed, is the key distinction of modern hypersonics, and consequently, of the systems designed to intercept them.
That makes it suitable for not only air and missile defense (including hypersonics), but space-based threats like ICBMs, military satellites, armed satellites, and other military objects.
On top of that, the system is mobile, which makes it deployable in virtually any corner of Russia, and is integrated into the national air defense network, making it a crucial addition to anti-missile defenses amid the ongoing development of the A-235 Nudol ABM interceptor system.