Originally Posted by
peter we
Yes, its an entirely imaginary missile. It doesn't exist.
I think the vehicle itself exists and was flown, but it is probably a hypersonic glide vehicle with maneuvering capability, and does not use a scramjet for propulsion. It is accelerated to hypersonic velocity by a rocket booster, and then separates from the booster and glides to its destination.
The
Boeing X-51 Waverider is the most successful example (so far) of a hypersonic air vehicle using a scramjet for propulsion. It was air dropped from a B-52 and accelerated to just over mach 4 by a solid rocket booster. After separating from the booster the scramjet propelled the vehicle to a speed near mach 6 for a couple minutes.
What Russia seems to be claiming is that their hypersonic vehicle has improved maneuvering capability in the glide phase of flight. However, if it requires a rocket booster to accelerate the glide vehicle to hypersonic velocity, it will still be vulnerable to intercept during the boost phase.