Latest news with #PatriotSystem
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hypersonic missiles are stirring fears in the Iran-Israel conflict. Here's why
BARCELONA (AP) — Iran is boasting that it has hypersonic missiles and says it already has begun firing the cutting-edge weapons at Israel. There is no evidence that Iran has unleashed the missiles, and experts are skeptical of the claim. But the use of these fast-moving projectiles could test Israel's vaunted missile-defense system and alter the course of the fighting between the two bitter enemies. Here's a closer look at these advanced weapons: What is a hypersonic missile and what makes them so feared? Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that it had fired what it said were hypersonic 'Fattah 1' missiles toward Israel. But whether these missiles are hypersonic is a matter of debate. Simply put, hypersonic weapons are any missile that travels beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound. Ballistic missiles, fired high up or outside the earth's atmosphere, routinely reach this speed. But in modern warfare, experts say hypersonic weapons must also have advanced navigation systems – making them nimble and capable of changing their trajectory. This can challenge traditional defense systems, said Jack Watling, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. Traditional ballistic missiles fly on a trajectory that missile-defense systems like the U.S.-made Patriot can anticipate. Cruise missiles, which can hug terrain, or hypersonic missiles, which are fired to a lower altitude, have less predictable trajectories and are harder to stop. 'Radar can see a missile on a ballistic curve because it's above the radar horizon. If it's a hypersonic glide vehicle, it can fly lower and hills get in the way,' Watling said. 'That further reduces the time that you will have to engage because if it comes over the horizon, you suddenly see it, and then it's over.' Who has hypersonic missiles or is developing them? Experts say the U.S. and China are the only countries that have developed new-generation hypersonic missiles — but neither have used them in battle. Other nations such as Russia, North Korea and Pakistan have tested or used missiles with similar but less sophisticated technology. 'In the way that it is currently being used, the term 'hypersonic' often has little to no meaning and at the same time fuels competitive dynamics and a fear of missing out on the technology,' according to a 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The U.S. says it is putting hypersonic missiles on a stealth destroyer and is developing and testing other programs. China tested its first hypersonic missile in 2017 and has since developed an array of hypersonic weapons that the U.S. Defense Department says could threaten Hawaii, Alaska and even the continental U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has warned of China's ' huge investments ' in military technology including hypersonic weapons. What are Iran's capabilities? Most countries can't make missiles that would weather the temperature and momentum stresses of these incredibly fast munitions, Watling said. 'This is a hugely complicated task. The Iranians don't have the capacity to manufacture them,' he said. Most of the missiles Iran has deployed against Israel travel at hypersonic speed, but are barely maneuverable, so are not considered true hypersonic missiles, said Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Israeli think tank INSS and a former scientist in Israeli defense industries. The missile it has launched, the Fattah 1 has had minimal success. Israel says Iran has fired over 400 missiles, with over 40 causing damage or casualties. 'Israel is able to intercept more than 95% of the missiles because speed is not crucial,' said Kalisky. 'What is important is the maneuverability of the incoming missiles, and so far the maneuverability of these missiles is limited.' He said Iran has two fast and maneuverable missiles, the Khorramshahr and Fattah 2, that would be 'more difficult' to intercept. But neither have been deployed. When and where have hypersonic missiles been used? Russia has claimed to have used hypersonic missiles in its war against Ukraine, but experts say that while fast they do not maneuver enough to be considered true hypersonic weapons. Russia President Vladimir Putin boasted of the development and use of the Orenshik in Ukraine — claiming that flies 'like a meteorite' at 10 times the speed of sound, and that it was immune to any missile defense system. Ukrainian military officials said it reached Mach 11. The Pentagon said last December the Oreshnik fired was an experimental type of intermediate-range ballistic missile. Russia has also claimed its Kinzhal missile is hypersonic, but Ukraine has been able to intercept them with the U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system. During the recent fighting between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, Pakistan said it destroyed a Russian-built S-400 air defense system in India's border Punjab state with hypersonic missiles launched from a warplane. Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, South Korea and North Korea all have hypersonic weapons programs. The European Union is studying how to develop an interceptor for hypersonic missiles as it ramps up defense spending to counter the Russian threat. __ Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in London and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv contributed to this report. Sam Mcneil, The Associated Press
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine has not yet received Patriot air defence system from Israel
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told journalists that a Patriot air defence system which Kyiv was due to receive from Israel via the United States has not yet arrived. Source: Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Details: Zelenskyy said an agreement on the supply of air defence systems with Israel did exist, although initially it did not cover the US-made Patriot systems. The president said that Ukraine had initially negotiated with Israel to acquire Israeli-Indian Barak 8 air defence systems, but that due to the attack on Israel by Hamas in autumn 2023, the delivery never took place. Ukraine then approached the United States requesting a Patriot system that Israel could send for refurbishment. Quote: "We received information that we could count on receiving some older models of the Patriot. That is, there are systems that are operational and there are donors willing to help repair them. There were some systems in Israel that could work if slightly refurbished. Eventually, one system was handed over by Israel to the United States to be repaired. We have not yet seen this system on Ukrainian territory." Background: Earlier, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky stated that Israel had transferred Patriot air defence systems which it received from the US in the early 1990s to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Russia Today
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine reports major Russian strikes overnight (VIDEOS)
Ukrainian officials have claimed that Moscow launched multiple waves of missile and drone strikes on Kiev and other cities across the country overnight. The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to comment. Multiple explosions were reported across several districts of Kiev and its suburbs early Friday morning, with mayor Vitaly Klitschko claiming that Ukrainian air defenses were engaging incoming missiles and drones. The official initially said that debris had only fallen on the territory of non-residential buildings. He later claimed that at least four people were killed and 20 injured. Surveillance footage reportedly captured by a CCTV camera somewhere in the Kiev region appeared to show the moment a US-supplied Patriot air defense system attempted to engage an incoming missile with four interceptors before apparently being hit. 🇷🇺 New footage from Kiev shows U.S.-supplied Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 systems launching interceptors amid a Russian Iskander missile impacts visibly captured on camera despite defensive launches. Blasts were also reported in the western regions of Ternopol and Lviv, in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk, in Kremenchug in central Ukraine, and elsewhere across the country. Multiple blurred out videos shared across Ukrainian social media appeared to show the aftermath of the strikes, but the exact locations and the facilities targeted were hard to verify. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet issued a statement on the incident. Moscow regularly carries out drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure, insisting that its operations do not target civilian facilities – and blaming Kiev for placing its air defenses in densely populated areas. On Sunday, Ukrainian drones struck multiple Russian airbases in a coordinated assault targeting long-range, nuclear-capable bombers. Moscow said that most of the incoming drones were intercepted, without confirming any irreparable losses or carrying out any immediate military response. Kiev also targeted multiple civilian sites in acts of railway sabotage over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring over 120 in what Moscow branded acts of terrorism. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Wednesday that Moscow 'will have to respond' to the attack on the country's nuclear deterrent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the retaliation would be carried out 'when and how our military deems appropriate.'
Russia Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine reports major Russian strike overnight (VIDEOS)
Ukrainian officials have claimed that Moscow launched multiple waves of missile and drone strikes on Kiev and other cities across the country overnight. The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to comment. Multiple explosions were reported across several districts of Kiev and its suburbs early Friday morning, with mayor Vitaly Klitschko claiming that the Ukrainian air defenses were engaging incoming missiles and drones. The official initially said that debris fell on the territory of non-residential buildings only. He later claimed that at least four people were killed and 20 injured. Surveillance footage allegedly captured by a CCTV camera somewhere in the Kiev region appeared to show the moment a US-supplied Patriot air defense system attempted to engage an incoming missile with four interceptors before seemingly being hit. 🇷🇺 New footage from Kiev shows U.S.-supplied Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 systems launching interceptors amid a Russian Iskander missile impacts visibly captured on camera despite defensive launches. Blasts were also reported in the western regions of Ternopol and Lviv, in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk, in Kremenchug in central Ukraine, and elsewhere across the country. Multiple blurred out videos shared across Ukrainian social media appeared to show the aftermath of the strikes, but the exact locations and the facilities targeted were hard to verify. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet issued a statement on the incident. Moscow regularly carries out drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure, insisting that its operations do not target civilian facilities – and blaming Kiev for placing its air defenses in densely populated areas. On Sunday, Ukrainian drones struck multiple Russian airbases in a coordinated assault targeting long-range, nuclear-capable bombers. Moscow said that most of the incoming drones were intercepted, without confirming any irreparable losses or carrying out any immediate military response. Kiev also targeted multiple Russian civilian sites in acts of railway sabotage over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring over 120 in what Moscow branded as terrorism. Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Wednesday that Moscow 'will have to respond' to the attack on the Russian nuclear deterrent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the retaliation would be carried out 'when and how our military deems appropriate.'
Russia Today
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine plugs its Western-made weapons into ‘NATO Wi-Fi'
Kiev has been allowed to join a NATO-standard coordination network which connects together Western-made military hardware, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Katerina Chernohorenko has announced. The system, in particular, is compatible with F-16s and Mirage 2000 fighter jets. On Saturday, Chernohorenko revealed that Ukraine had signed a license agreement to begin using the Command and Control Center System Interface (CSI), a non-commercial digital platform employed by most NATO member states for air and missile coordination and improved interoperability. The official pointed out that the system operates through NATO's Link-16 data protocol – which she referred to as 'military Wi-Fi.' She added that the protocol facilitates coordination between fighter jets such as US-made F-16s and French-made Mirage 2000s, as well as air defense systems like the Patriot, all of which have been supplied to Ukraine as military aid. Ukraine received its first F-16s from its European backers last summer, although the process had been slower than expected due to logistics and pilot training issues. While some officials in Kiev initially hoped it would become a 'game changer' on the battlefield, the military later acknowledged it could not rival the most advanced Russian jets. In total, Kiev was promised more than 80 F-16s, many of which are expected to arrive in the years to come. Since the start of deliveries, at least three Ukrainian-operated F-16s have been confirmed destroyed. As for the French-made Mirage 2000s, which are capable of carrying long-range Scalp/Storm Shadow missiles, Ukraine only received the first batch this winter, with the number of planes to be delivered estimated at six. Kiev has confirmed their deployment in combat, but reported no losses. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukrainian-operated F-16s will 'burn' just like other Western-supplied equipment. Moscow has also consistently denounced Western military aid to Kiev, arguing it will only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome.
