Russian fighter jets armed with a new hypersonic “aircraft carrier killer missile” have been sent to a base in Syria to monitor the Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth strike force which is sailing in the eastern Mediterranean.
It is the first time Russia has deployed its
Kinzhal hypersonic missileoverseas. It is claimed to be capable of flying at ten times the speed of sound (12,350kph or 7,670mph) and has a range of about 2,000km (1,250 miles).
The Kh-47M2
Kinzhal (Dagger) missile was one of the new generation of weapons highlighted by President Putin in 2019. He claimed that Russia was the first country to deploy a hypersonic weapon. The missile can be armed with a nuclear warhead.
It is being carried by two MiG-31K supersonic fighter jets dispatched to the Khmeimim airbase in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia. The aircraft, codenamed Foxhound by Nato, are participating in a Russian naval exercise in the same region as the Queen Elizabeth.
It’s the latest sign of Moscow adopting a high-profile stance towards Britain’s inaugural operational deployment of the £3.2 billion, 65,000-tonne carrier, which led to a confrontation in the Black Sea last week with HMS Defender, which is part of the carrier’s strike force. The two Foxhounds will monitor “the actions of the [Royal Navy] aircraft carrier group”, the Russians said.
A Russian ministry of defence video showed one of the Foxhounds armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile taking off from the base. Three Tu-22M3 Backfire-C strategic bombers are also at the Khmeimim airbase taking part in the same exercise in the eastern Mediterranean and can be armed with long-range cruise missiles.
HMS Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by two destroyers, two frigates, an Astute class nuclear-powered attack submarine and two support vessels, is on a 28-week maiden deployment which will take it to India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the South China Sea.
The incident in the Black Sea last week led to angry statements by Moscow and London.
Moscow claimed that a coastguard ship fired warning shots at HMS Defender, a Type 45 destroyer, and that fighter jets dropped four bombs in front of the warship after it had left the Ukrainian port of Odessa. This was denied by the Ministry of Defence in London though video showed the Russian vessel firing three rounds.
Tensions in the Black Sea remain high with an annual naval drill involving Ukraine, the United States and allies starting today and running until July 10. They involve 32 ships, 5,000 troops, and 40 aircraft from Nato member states, including Britain. The Russian embassy in Washington described the exercises as “aggressive” and called on the United States to cancel them. Moscow has warned that it will respond “appropriately” to any threats posed by the drills.
The Kremlin annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, triggering an international crisis. Tensions flared again in April when Russia amassed an estimated 100,000 soldiers on Ukraine’s eastern borders. HMS Defender’s voyage was intended to assert international navigation rights in the area and as a show of solidarity with Ukraine.