China is disappointed with the Russians "fake daggers"vulnerable to Patriot

Chinese analysts are disappointed with the Russian Kinzhal missiles; their maneuverability is “incomparable to the maneuverability of a real hypersonic missile.”

How writes Business Insider, Russian Kinzhals are not true hypersonic missiles, and their ballistic trajectory makes them vulnerable to Patriot.

The article notes that China is closely monitoring the use of Daggers in Ukraine to understand how these missiles counter the American Patriot systems that use the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Beijing hopes its own hypersonic missiles will give China an advantage over the United States in a potential war. But some defense analysts in China question the effectiveness of the Russian missile. Chinese military analyst Yin Jie in the military journal Ordnance Industry Science and Technology notes:

“There is growing evidence that what the US and Ukraine are saying on this matter is true.”

According to Western reports, Dagger, touted by the Kremlin as an “unstoppable” hypersonic weapon, was shot down by Patriot systems or simply missed the target. It is worth noting that while such magazines do not necessarily reflect the views or intelligence of the military, such publications do not appear without the approval of government authorities. Despite this, Yin published a critical review of Russia’s use of the Daggers – he said the missile was “unlikely to have a significant impact” on the battlefield. This directly contradicts the way Russia, a close ally of China, portrays these weapons as a decisive means of victory, the newspaper notes.

The analyst described the missile as an evolution of Russia’s land-based Iskander missile, which was completed as a “short-term, rushed project forced into production” as Western rivals pressured Moscow in the pre-war years.

A similar opinion, writes Business Insider, is contained in the article “Confrontation between Daggers and Patriot in Ukraine”, published by the famous Beijing defense and scientific magazine Military Arms. The analysis says that the Dagger is, at best, a “conditionally hypersonic missile”:

“Although Russia calls the Kinzhal a hypersonic missile, analysts from other countries generally believe that the so-called Kinzhal hypersonic missile is actually a version of the short-range Iskander tactical air-launched ballistic missile.”

The assessment matches what Western experts have said about the Kinzhal: it is not a “true” hypersonic missile, since it cannot effectively maneuver at hypersonic speed, although it can reach it.

Yin also criticized the process of using these missiles: the Russian Federation stopped launching Daggers from Mig-31 aircraft, deciding to use Su-34 aircraft – too slow to launch these missiles at optimal speed. Yin notes: already slower than the Mig-31, the Su-34 was even more burdened with the heavy Dagger.

Another drawback is the Russian satellite missile guidance system. In Yin’s assessment, it does not have enough satellites to ensure accuracy: “The accuracy is unsatisfactory.”

He also noted that Russia does not have enough Daggers: Western sanctions have limited Moscow’s ability to quickly produce weapons, limiting its ability to use missiles.

This assessment is consistent with the fact that Western experts said about the Kinzhal – it is not a “true” hypersonic missile, since it can reach hypersonic speeds, but cannot effectively glide and maneuver at such speeds. “The Kinzhal missile has more than enough ambition, but not enough power,” the July analysis said.

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