5 ms·

Can’t imagine that moves the needle. Most cruise missiles were hitting already. I would imagine this is simply because they’re out of cheaper missiles.

soxxer 5y ago
I wonder if it is just propaganda. It just doesn't really make sense why they would use hypersonics at this stage. A press release that cost nothing though makes much more sense.
- aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
  Not many opportunities to calibrate/test toys at that scale...?
k_sze 5y ago
> I would imagine this is simply because they’re out of cheaper missiles. Not necessarily. I have no idea whether Russia sells their missiles, but if they do, this might act like a field demonstration? Edit: some people on Twitter believe that it is a deterrent signal to NATO: https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1505099402980958209 https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1505099402980958209
- oneoff786 5y ago
  Doubtful. All evidence points to Russia having few supplies of their good weapons. The west won’t bat an eye at this. They’re losing tons of planes because they don’t have the precision bombs anymore so they need to fly low in range of AA weapons
  - vasac 5y ago
    They have low production capacity but so far they expended small part of their stock of cruice/balistic missiles. Also, they are flying low because they weren't able to destroy Ukrainian air defense so flying high is still quite dangerous. When they're flying low air defence has no enough time to react - it's still dangerous but less so.
    - oneoff786 5y ago
      Pretty sure That is the opposite of true. Flying high keeps you out of range of many weapons.
323 5y ago
I think this should be viewed more as a signal to NATO, that no matter how many air defenses it deploys to logistics hubs used to ship military equipment to Ukraine, Russia can still hit them if it wants. Of course, how NATO responds after is a different matter. > About 50 miles from Ukraine at an airport in Eastern Poland, a major show of American force is designed to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. has deployed two Patriot missile batteries, which are among the most sophisticated air defense systems in the world. ... The airport in Eastern Poland is also used as a way station for weapons going to Ukraine. On Tuesday, what appeared to be a convoy of trucks left the airport heading for the border. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-poland-us-patriot-missiles/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-poland-us-patrio...
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  They could already penetrate the defenses with their other assets. The message to Nato is demonstrating a nuclear-capable missile that could penetrate NATO defenses
- picsao 5y ago
aaron695 5y ago
> simply because they’re out of cheaper missiles. It's a clear nuclear signal. It was theorised years ago this would be a use [1] I'm a little amazed at the ops on Twitter claiming it's because Russia has run out of cheaper bombs. Somehow it gained traction. Is it wishful thinking? [1] (2020) -The possibilities of multi-variant application of the Kinzhal ARC make it possible to influence the enemy state (both the military-political leadership and the population) in order to deter military aggression or escalation of hostilities during a military conflict. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rol-novyh-sistem-strategicheskih-vooruzheniy-v-obespechenii-strategicheskogo-sderzhivaniya https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rol-novyh-sistem-strategic...
- oneoff786 5y ago
  It doesn’t change the calculus of nuclear weapons at all.

soxxer 5y ago

I wonder if it is just propaganda. It just doesn't really make sense why they would use hypersonics at this stage. A press release that cost nothing though makes much more sense.

aaaaaaaaata 5y ago
Not many opportunities to calibrate/test toys at that scale...?

k_sze 5y ago

> I would imagine this is simply because they’re out of cheaper missiles. Not necessarily. I have no idea whether Russia sells their missiles, but if they do, this might act like a field demonstration? Edit: some people on Twitter believe that it is a deterrent signal to NATO: https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1505099402980958209 https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1505099402980958209

oneoff786 5y ago
Doubtful. All evidence points to Russia having few supplies of their good weapons. The west won’t bat an eye at this. They’re losing tons of planes because they don’t have the precision bombs anymore so they need to fly low in range of AA weapons
- vasac 5y ago
  They have low production capacity but so far they expended small part of their stock of cruice/balistic missiles. Also, they are flying low because they weren't able to destroy Ukrainian air defense so flying high is still quite dangerous. When they're flying low air defence has no enough time to react - it's still dangerous but less so.
  - oneoff786 5y ago
    Pretty sure That is the opposite of true. Flying high keeps you out of range of many weapons.

323 5y ago

I think this should be viewed more as a signal to NATO, that no matter how many air defenses it deploys to logistics hubs used to ship military equipment to Ukraine, Russia can still hit them if it wants. Of course, how NATO responds after is a different matter. > About 50 miles from Ukraine at an airport in Eastern Poland, a major show of American force is designed to deter Russian aggression. The U.S. has deployed two Patriot missile batteries, which are among the most sophisticated air defense systems in the world. ... The airport in Eastern Poland is also used as a way station for weapons going to Ukraine. On Tuesday, what appeared to be a convoy of trucks left the airport heading for the border. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-poland-us-patriot-missiles/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ukraine-poland-us-patrio...

s1artibartfast 5y ago
They could already penetrate the defenses with their other assets. The message to Nato is demonstrating a nuclear-capable missile that could penetrate NATO defenses
picsao 5y ago

aaron695 5y ago

> simply because they’re out of cheaper missiles. It's a clear nuclear signal. It was theorised years ago this would be a use [1] I'm a little amazed at the ops on Twitter claiming it's because Russia has run out of cheaper bombs. Somehow it gained traction. Is it wishful thinking? [1] (2020) -The possibilities of multi-variant application of the Kinzhal ARC make it possible to influence the enemy state (both the military-political leadership and the population) in order to deter military aggression or escalation of hostilities during a military conflict. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rol-novyh-sistem-strategicheskih-vooruzheniy-v-obespechenii-strategicheskogo-sderzhivaniya https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rol-novyh-sistem-strategic...

oneoff786 5y ago
It doesn’t change the calculus of nuclear weapons at all.