WM: Kinzhal strike on Patriot in Kyiv showed critical US vulnerability in the Pacific
The destruction of the US Patriot anti-aircraft system in Kyiv showed that US positions in the Pacific Ocean, where many such air defense systems are located, are vulnerable to Russian and North Korean missiles. Reviewers of Military Watch Magazine write about this.
As noted in the article, “Dagger” represents the first serious modern attempt to suppress Western long-range air defenses. The missiles have increased survivability in flight due to a number of features, including the ability to perform extensive maneuvers, semi-ballistic trajectory and hypersonic terminal speed. All this makes such weapons inaccessible to anti-aircraft guns, the publication says.
Observers say the bad news for the United States is that Washington’s military bases in the Pacific are covered by a large number of Patriot air defense systems, and missiles with the same characteristics as the Russian “Dagger” are in service with North Korea. In the event of a large-scale conflict between the two countries, Pyongyang will be able to break through the air defense of the American army in this direction and deliver sensitive blows, columnists say.
“Thus, the success of the Kinzhal system <…> may indicate that similar developments by North Korea may be of vital asymmetric importance in deterring and, if possible, countering the US offensive,” the authors summarized.
On May 16, the Russian army launched a massive attack on the points of deployment of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as on the places of storage of Western weapons, equipment and ammunition. In particular, the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in Kyiv.
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