Project Sword
The Russian army launched a frenzied large-scale air raid on New Year's Eve, using up to $1.2 billion worth of missiles and drones. From the Dagger hypersonic missile to the S-300 surface-to-surface missile, and then to the Geran-2 cruise missile, this wave of the Russian army's offensive is simply the first exhibition, all kinds of missiles show their own magical powers, some fly at an amazing speed, some are low-altitude serpentine maneuvers, and some are high-altitude and high-speed dives to directly attack the target.
These missiles are expensive, such as the Dagger hypersonic missile can cost $10 million each, and the X-101 stealth cruise missile costs $13 million. However, there are also relatively inexpensive options ranging from a few hundred thousand to a million dollars, as well as those Shahed-136 131 drones that cost $20,000 to $50,000 each.
The report of the Russian satellite network broke the amazing news, the Russian army used the KH-22 cruise missile to show its might, sending more than 300 **, and the Ukrainian army even if it has Western high-tech air defense systems, none of them have successfully intercepted, and the Russian army dominates the sky with an amazing record of 300:0.
The Kh-22 cruise missile itself is a powerful long-range anti-ship missile of the Soviet era, designed to deal with US aircraft carrier battle groups. Now, Russia has completely upgraded it, not only with a new guidance and power system, but also with radar guidance probes and the GLONASS satellite navigation system, which allows it to automatically search for targets while providing inertial guidance. The firing range has also increased to a staggering 1000 km, and ordinary electronic interference is not a problem for it at all.
The Tu-22 bomber launches the Kh-22 cruise missile from a height of 40,000 meters, and the giant missile dives almost vertically towards the target at alarming speeds and angles. Imagine this 6-ton jumbo with a whopping 35 times the speed of sound cruising and even 46 times the speed of sound, the sight of a swoop to the ground. This is not only a demonstration of speed, but also a demonstration of strength, especially since the 900 kg shaped blasting warhead it carries can destroy the target almost instantaneously once hit.
However, when these missiles flew over Kyiv, even the most advanced air defense systems of the West - from ASAMS to Patriot - failed to intercept them. This is not only a technical demonstration, but also a major test in actual combat. The Kh-22 missile has proven itself to be powerful in breaking through most of NATO's air defense systems.
So the question arises, what to do if the US aircraft carrier fleet encounters Tu-22M2 backfire bombers equipped with Kh-22?Considering that one Tu-22M3 can carry three such missiles, the combination of several bombers can form wave after wave of attack waves of high-speed dives. If even the Patriot missile can't stop it, how sure can the Standard 2 missile be?Ukraine's failure to intercept may only lead to the destruction of some facilities, but if the US aircraft carrier battle group cannot stop such an attack, the consequences will be unimaginable.
The fear of high-speed dive missiles on US aircraft carriers mainly stems from the unique attack methods and difficult to capture characteristics of these missiles. First of all, the shipborne radar system has certain limitations in its design, especially in detecting targets that dive down directly from overhead. When high-speed missiles like the Kh-22 swoop down from an altitude of 40,000 meters at a staggering 5,000 kilometers per hour, most radar systems struggle to detect and track them in time. Even if discovered, reaction time is extremely limited, making it extremely difficult to defend.
The United States, on the other hand, has the most advanced missile defense systems in the world, which are primarily designed to counter conventional ballistic missiles. These defense systems rely on infrared reconnaissance systems to track and locate the missile's flight path and then calculate the expected landing point for interception.
But the maneuverability and inadmissibility of high-speed and hypersonic missiles far exceed the processing capabilities of these systems. These missiles can change speed and direction in flight, and even carry out complex waverider movements, making their flight trajectories no longer regular, difficult to intercept.
Therefore, when faced with such high-speed, high-maneuverability missiles, even a country with advanced technology such as the United States will feel threatened by its carrier battle group, because the attack of these missiles is almost impossible to effectively defend against. This inability and difficulty in intercepting makes high-speed dive missiles a very feared opponent for US aircraft carriers.
The world's martial arts, only fast is not broken"This phrase applies especially to high-speed and hypersonic missiles on the modern battlefield. When we say that a missile reaches a speed of 5,000 kilometers per hour, it means that it flies at a speed of about 1,720 meters per second, while a hypersonic missile with 10 times the speed of sound travels about 3,400 meters per second.
This speed makes reaction time extremely limited, and even giving the defense system 20 seconds of warning time makes it difficult to take effective countermeasures, not to mention that these missiles often dive almost vertically overhead, making detection and interception even more difficult.
The increased range of high-speed missiles and hypersonic missiles is not only to increase the strike range, but more importantly they allow for rear deployment, allowing the launch platform to move away from the front line and reduce the risk of being hit by the enemy. This long-range deployment strategy also means that it is difficult for the enemy's anti-missile system to intercept the missile during the take-off phase, thus effectively thwarting the enemy's preemptive strategy.
By relying on such high-speed missiles and hypersonic missiles, Russia has established a new anti-carrier saturation missile strike tactic, known as the "Anti-Carrier Saturation Missile Strike Tactic 2."0”。This tactic is far more powerful than in the past, and it poses a substantial threat to the US aircraft carrier group.
The U.S. military developed the Aegis system to defend against Soviet missile saturation strike tactics, but in the face of new anti-carrier missiles, such as China's Dongfeng series and Russia's hypersonic anti-ship missiles, the "iron wall" that the United States has built for aircraft carriers is showing loopholes. Especially on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, the terminal supersonic penetration missile has proven its value and power.
All this shows that with the advancement of technology, even the most powerful naval forces in the world must constantly adapt to new threats and look for more effective means of defense. The development of high-speed and hypersonic missiles has undoubtedly brought new challenges and changes to modern conflicts.