Shortly before the start of the war in Ukraine, on February 24, the presence of MiG-31K fighters armed a priori with the Kh-47M2 Kinjal hypersonic missile [ou Kinzhal]had been reported in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Lithuania and Poland.
As a reminder, Kinjal is among the six “invincible” and “strategic weapons” unveiled by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in March 2018 [code Otan : AS-24 « Killjoy »] is an aeroballistic missile derived from the Iskander. Equipped with a 500 kg fragmentation warhead or a nuclear warhead, it can hit a target 2000 km away. The deployment of the MiG-31K in Kaliningrad then also brought most European capitals within range.
If at the time he had not said anything about this deployment, the Ministry of Defense finally announced on August 18 that three MiG-31K, “equipped with Kinjal hypersonic missiles, had been transferred to Chkalovsk airfield, Kaliningrad region”. And to specify that they would be kept on alert 24 hours a day.
Since then, Moscow and Minsk have decided to form a joint “regional military grouping” under the pretext of “deteriorating the situation on the western borders of the Union”. [russo-biélorusse] “. And to this end, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced the arrival of “9 thousand Russian soldiers” and “about 170 tanks” in Belarus. However, according to the Gazeta.ru website, MiG-31s were also expected.
Apparently and during the battle of Kherson [sud] Kyiv is threatened with a Russian offensive led by Belarus … while the Ukrainian strategic infrastructure [électricité, distribution d’eau, etc] are now regularly attacked by Moscow.
Anyway, the information from Gazetu.ru has just been confirmed by British intelligence with supporting satellite images.
Latest Defense Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – November 1, 2022
Learn more about the UK Government’s response: https://t.co/ohQH7fYyqM
🇬🇧 #StandWithUkraine 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Q9WxS4UKza
— Department of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 1, 2022
Indeed, in the UK Ministry of Defense update released on November 1st [MoD] claims that at least two MiG-31Ks were deployed at Machulishchy Air Base near MInsk in central Belarus on October 17. In addition, the presence of boxes large enough to carry Kh-47M2 Kinjal missiles is reported.
As the Defense Ministry points out, this is the first time this type of missile has been deployed in Belarus, “probably” to send a message to the West and underscore Minsk’s growing involvement in the war.
In addition, whether based in Kaliningrad or Machulishchy, the Kinjal missile always has the European capitals within reach… The difference is undoubtedly the greater maneuvering space of the MiG-31K. In addition, this movement towards Belarus provides only a limited advantage when it comes to hitting targets on Ukrainian territory. At least that is the assessment of the Department of Defense.
Especially since the attacks carried out with Kinjal missiles against Ukrainian targets had no significant impact on the course of the war, as Colonel David Pappalardo noted in the latest issue of the Air & Space Force’s Vortex magazine.
“Russia announced on March 19 that it had for the first time used its Kh-47M2 Kinjal air-launched ballistic missile fired by an upgraded MiG-31 against an ammunition depot in Ukraine. Again, communication essentially focused on the high-velocity nature of these munitions for the purpose of intimidation and strategic reporting to NATO. However, the Kinjal is not a groundbreaking weapon that gives Russia a significant operational advantage in the war in Ukraine. On the contrary, it is just an adaptation of the Iskander M surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which has been launched many times since the beginning of the conflict to achieve similar military effects,” wrote Colonel Pappalardo.
In reality, the Kinjal’s strategic nature is largely due to the military load it carries…although it can travel 2000km in under ten minutes, making it difficult to counter.