Dagger anti-aircraft missile system characteristics. Anti-aircraft missile system "Dagger. Tactical and technical characteristics of the air defense system Kinzhal

1960s in our country and abroad, the first ship-based low-altitude anti-aircraft missile systems - "Osa-M", "Sea Sparrow", "Sea Ket" and "Sea Wolf" were developed, which forced Once again reconsider the tactics of naval aviation.
Previously, the Americans, relying on overwhelming superiority in surface ships, rested on the laurels of their victories in the war on pacific ocean and expected to sink the ships potential adversary air strikes with conventional, unguided weapons.

By the beginning of the 1970s. the equipping of the Soviet fleet with anti-aircraft missiles, its rapid quantitative growth, the exit for permanent military service in the Mediterranean Sea and other areas of the World Ocean forced the Americans to consider it as a serious enemy. They had to equip aircraft with guided missile and bomb weapons, i.e. to a certain extent catch up with the Soviet naval aviation, which has already become missile-carrying. This was also facilitated by the experience of the Vietnam War that was going on in those years, which showed that effective destruction of even stationary small-sized objects is achievable only with the use of guided weapons. And the ships, not only move, but also energetically maneuver under the threat of a bomb attack. In addition to the possibility of hitting a target with one or two ammunition, the transition to guided weapons ensured at least the relative safety of its carriers. The launch was carried out from a distance exceeding the range of actual fire, not only anti-aircraft artillery, but also self-defense missile systems.

In addition, also in the “race for the Soviets” mode, ship-based cruise missiles were also created abroad, the most common of which were the Exoset and Harpoon. Unlike their Soviet counterparts, they were characterized by small dimensions and weight, which made it possible to gradually equip almost all new ships of the United States and their allies, starting with corvettes and frigates, with them.

In the 1970s the most urgent task of the developers of anti-aircraft rocket weapons was the creation of air defense systems to destroy not so much aircraft as guided weapons (precision weapons). As targets, they had certain specifics compared to manned aircraft. Firstly, the effective scattering surface was reduced by one or two orders of magnitude compared to aircraft due to the small size and cleanliness of the external forms of missiles. Secondly, the absence of a pilot on board made it possible to take greater risks and reduce the flight altitude to several meters above the water surface. Thirdly, the placement of several guided weapons on board the carrier aircraft greatly increased the number of targets simultaneously attacking the ship, compared with a direct bombing and assault strike by aircraft.

In general, guided weapons have become, if not invulnerable, then at least extremely challenging goals for previously developed complexes that could no longer provide ship protection with an acceptable probability.

The need for a similar complex for protection against high-precision weapons was also realized by the Ground Forces. As in the development of "Osa" and "Osa-M", it was considered expedient to create for both types of Armed Forces the most unified systems with a single anti-aircraft missile.

By a resolution of the party and government of February 4, 1975, the development of the Tor air defense system for ground forces and "Dagger" for the Navy. The lead developer of the Tor complex, as before when creating the Wasp, was determined by the NIEMI (later - NPO Antey), and V.P. Efremov. However, NIEMI, extremely loaded with the ongoing at the same time hard work on the S-300V complex for the Ground Forces, they did not begin to involve in the creation ship complex self defense. This was entrusted to the organization that developed almost all naval air defense systems, the Altair Research Institute ( chief designer- S.A. Fadeev). A single rocket for both complexes was created at the Fakel Design Bureau (chief designer - P.D. Grushin).

The new complexes have retained a number of expedient solutions implemented in the Osa air defense system - the use of cost-effective radio command guidance of missiles, the inclusion of both complexes of their own radar equipment reconnaissance of targets, the use of a tail unit on a missile that rotates relative to the longitudinal axis of the product. On the other hand, innovations were also required. The task of repulsing sudden massive raids required the provision of an extremely short reaction time and high fire performance of the complex. The technical means of fulfilling these tactical requirements were multi-channel, achieved through the use of a phased antenna array (PAR) in the guidance station, and vertical launch of missiles. The implementation of the latter not only eliminated the time spent on reloading the launcher and turning it towards the next incoming target, but also made it possible to avoid all the design difficulties associated with the use of a launcher hiding under the deck in the Osa-M complex.

The 9M330 solid-propellant rocket was made according to the "duck" scheme and consisted of five compartments. The first compartment was a radio-transparent fairing made of AG-4V material.

At the front end of the second compartment, made of AMG-6 alloy, a radio fuse transmitter is fixed, the antenna of which is located under the fairing. In front of the compartment, rudders, a block of four steering machines with a gas distribution system are mounted on a single board, and behind them there is a block of hot gas sources, consisting of a gas generator and a gas jet inclination system.

The third compartment, also made of AMG-6, serves to accommodate on-board equipment, the elements of which (autopilot, radio caller receiver, radio control unit, power supply) are mechanically connected by four longitudinal stringers into a monoblock, screwed to the compartment shell. To the right and left along the sides of the compartment are the receiving antennas of the radio fuse, above and below - the receiving and transmitting antennas of the radio control and radio vision unit. Further in the compartment is a high-explosive fragmentation warhead with a safety-actuating mechanism.

The fourth compartment is a dual-mode solid-propellant engine, the starting thrust of which is approximately four times higher than the thrust in the cruising section. The engine housing is made of high-strength steel with rolled shell and stamped bottoms. On the rear bottom there is a seating surface for the inner bearing ring of the fifth compartment.

The fifth (tail) compartment is a wing block with a power frame and a shell made of sheet aluminum. As on the Osa-M missile system, the wing consoles are mounted on a bearing, which reduces disturbances from oblique blowing.

In the SAM of the Kinzhal complex, folding wing consoles are used, which, after leaving the container, are opened by torsion bars enclosed in cylindrical casings. In the transport position, the consoles are folded in pairs towards each other. The powder catapult is located outside the rocket body.
The application of 9M330 is as follows. When launched, the rocket is ejected by a catapult vertically upwards at a speed of about 25 m/s. The declination of the SAM at a given angle, the magnitude and direction of which are entered into the autopilot before launch, is carried out before the rocket engine is started due to the reactive force when the combustion products of a special gas generator exhaust through four two-nozzle gas distributor blocks installed at the base of the aerodynamic rudder. At the same time, missile control is provided in all three channels. The control force changes in proportion to the angle of rotation of the aerodynamic rudder. Combining the aerodynamic rudder and gas distributor into a single unit made it possible to eliminate the use of a special drive for the declination system. The gas-dynamic device tilts the rocket in the right direction, and then, before turning on the solid propellant engine, stabilizes it in the direction of the subsequent flight.

The rocket engine is launched at a height of 16-21 m from the cutoff of the launcher on command issued either after a specified one-second delay from the start, or when the rocket axis deviates from the vertical by an angle of more than 50°. As a result, almost the entire thrust impulse of the engine is spent on giving the rocket speed in the direction of the target. The rocket speed reaches 700-850 m/s at a distance of 1.5 km from the launch. The command guidance process starts from a range of 250 m. The missile is capable of practicing maneuvers with overloads up to 30 units and hits targets maneuvering with overloads up to 12 units. Due to the wide range of linear dimensions of possible targets (from 3-4 to 20-30 m) and the parameters of their movement (from 10 to 6000 m in height and from 0 to 700 m/s in speed at a distance of up to 12 km) for optimal when they are covered with fragments of the warhead from the guidance station on board the missile, the value of the time delay for the detonation of the warhead is given in relation to the moment the radio fuse is triggered. As a result, aircraft are hit in the center of the fuselage, elements of high-precision weapons - in the area where the control system and warhead are located. At low altitudes, the underlying surface is selected and the radio fuse is triggered only from the target.

The launch weight of the 9M330 rocket is 165 kg (of which about 15 kg is for the warhead); its length is 2.9 m, body diameter is 235 mm, wingspan is 0.65 m.

The ship's multifunctional control system includes a ZR-95 missile guidance station and an air target detection system. The latter was developed by the Research Institute "Kvant" under the leadership of V.I. The system allows you to detect targets at ranges up to 45 km. The antenna post includes two oppositely directed lattice parabolic antennas located on top of the antenna base housing. Circular rotation of the antenna post of the guidance station is provided.

The spherical body of the antenna base is stabilized to compensate for the ship's roll and pitch. On the sides of the case there are rectangular containers with transmitter and receiver equipment, connected by a truss structure for rigidity. In front of the containers is placed the equipment of television-optical sights used as a backup means of tracking targets. A phased antenna array, missile capture and narrow beam antennas are fixed in front of the hull. The housing of the phased antenna array is manufactured using advanced technology using pressed and stamped plastic parts. The design of the drive provides limited rotation of the antenna base in a fairly wide range of heading angles.

The complex can fire up to four targets in the 60×60° sector, simultaneously aiming up to eight missiles at them, including up to three missiles per target. The reaction time is from 8 to 24 s. The radio-electronic means of the complex provide fire control for 30-mm anti-aircraft artillery guns AK-630. Combat capabilities"Dagger" is 5-6 times higher than the corresponding indicators of "Osa-M".

The use of a dual-processor digital computer system provides a high degree combat automation. The choice of the most dangerous target for priority firing can be done both automatically and at the command of the operator.

Underdeck launcher ZS-95, developed at the Design Bureau "Start" under the leadership of A.I. Yaskin, includes several modules, each of which is a drum with eight transport and launch containers (TPK). The cover of the launcher can rotate about the vertical axis of the drum. The rocket is launched after turning the cover of the launcher and bringing the hatch in it to the TPK with the rocket intended for launch. The start interval does not exceed 3 s. Taking into account the relatively small dimensions of the complex, such a solution seems unnecessarily complicated compared to the launch of missiles from containers implemented later in foreign fleets, placed in simpler cell-type launchers.

Initially, it was planned to create the Kinzhal air defense system with weight and size characteristics not exceeding those implemented in Ose-M. Moreover, the designers had to achieve the possibility of installing the complex instead of the Osa-M on previously built ships in the process of modernization repairs. However, the fulfillment of the given combat tactical and technical characteristics was considered a higher priority task. Weight and size indicators grew, so the succession of anti-aircraft missile systems "by seats" could not be ensured.

In itself, this was not so significant. With an extremely weak ship repair base of the fleet and the unwillingness of both the military and industry to divert shipyards for repair work by reducing the number of new ships built, the possibility of a radical modernization of combat units that had already served the Motherland was rather abstract.

More serious consequences of the “growth” of the “Dagger” were expressed in the impossibility of placing it on small ships, although formally it could be installed on ships with a displacement of more than 800 tons. As a result, even on such an innovative ship as designed at the Almaz Central Design Bureau (chief designer - P.V. Elsky, then - V.I. Korolkov) hovercraft missile carrier with skegs pr. 1239, had to install the same Osu-MA. Ultimately, the Ose-M as the main means of protecting small ships was replaced by the Kortik anti-aircraft missile and artillery system of the near line, and not the Dagger.

The development of "Thor" and "Dagger" was a significant lag behind the originally set deadlines. As a rule, earlier the land version was ahead of the ship version, as if paving the way for it. However, when creating the autonomous self-propelled complex "Tor" revealed serious problems associated with the development of a combat vehicle. As a result, joint flight tests of the Thor at the Emba training ground began even later than the Kinzhal at the Black Sea - in December 1983, but ended in December of the following year. The land air defense system was adopted by a decree of March 19, 1986, almost three years earlier than the ship.

Development delay land complex was an unpleasant circumstance, but its consequences were limited to an appropriate adjustment of the production program.

Factories instead of "Thor" for several more years produced a less perfect, but quite effective "Osu".

At sea, the situation is much more piquant. Since the end of 1980, one or two large anti-submarine ships of project 1155, the only anti-aircraft missile weapons which was supposed to be a pair of air defense systems "Dagger" with a total ammunition load of 64 missiles. The delay in its development meant that for more than five years these capital ships remained almost defenseless from air strikes: by the end of the 20th century. artillery could no longer provide them with cover from the effects of aviation. Moreover, the apparent absence of guidance stations in the places intended for them, as it were, urged the enemy pilots to send our ships to the bottom quickly and practically without any risk to themselves.

True, at first, NATO experts did not understand such a scandalous situation and indulged in a rampage of fantasy, arguing in the press about the presence on our new ships of some kind of super-promising, outwardly invisible means of guiding anti-aircraft missiles. One way or another, the lead ship of project 1155 - BOD "Udaloy" - had to wait almost a decade for the adoption of the "Dagger" into service (after commissioning in 1980).

Due to the delay in the development of air defense systems for two years, the small anti-submarine ship MPK-104 (building number 721), built according to project 1124K specifically for testing the "Dagger", could not be used for its intended purpose. It differed from its prototype - the ship pr. 1124M - not only in the natural absence of the means of the standard Osa-M air defense system. Too much big weights and, more importantly, the high location of the multifunctional guidance station of the Kinzhal complex did not allow the installation of artillery weapons and all standard radars on it, which, however, was not so important for the experimental ship. The formal entry into service took place in October 1980, while the ship was equipped with only launcher with three modules, but the guidance station has not yet been delivered to the Black Sea. Subsequently, one of the two made in 1979 was mounted on the MPK-104. prototypes complex. Tests of air defense systems were conducted from 1982 to 1986 and did not go smoothly. The system was not sufficiently debugged in ground conditions - at the stands of the Altair Research Institute and at its test base. Big Volga". Fine-tuning was carried out mainly on the ship, in conditions that were not quite favorable for its implementation.

Once, during the firing, the engine thrown out by the catapult of the rocket did not turn on, which fell on the deck and fell apart into two parts. As for one half of the product, as they said, "it drowned." But the second part, with all its meek behavior, caused well-founded fears. After this incident, it was necessary to revise the main technical solutions to start the engine, which increased the reliability of this process. Another time, due to the “human factor” (due to uncoordinated actions of personnel and industry representatives), an unauthorized launch of missiles took place. One of the developers, who was next to the launcher, barely managed to hide from the jet of the rocket engine.

Shortly before the completion of the tests in the spring of 1986, all four P-35 missiles used as targets, launched by a salvo of the coastal complex, were very effectively shot down. However, it was not until 1989 that the Kinzhal complex was officially adopted.

The Kinzhal air defense system ensured the destruction of targets flying at speeds up to 700 m / s in the altitude range from 10 to 6000 m at ranges from 1.5 to 12 km.

The main carriers of the complex were to be large anti-submarine ships of project 1155. Initially, this ship was conceived as a development of the guard ship of project 1135, but by the time of laying it had turned into a BOD with twice the displacement. It was assumed that the ships of Project 1155 would solve anti-submarine missions together with the destroyers of Project 956, equipped with powerful strike and anti-aircraft missile weapons - the Moskit and SAM complexes medium range"Hurricane". Therefore, taking into account the restrictions on displacement, due to the capabilities of the plants, it was decided to equip the BOD pr. 1155 only with the Kinzhal self-defense systems. Each ship was equipped with two air defense systems with a total ammunition load of 64 9M330 missiles and two ZR-95 missile guidance stations.

The lead ships at the "Plant them. Zhdanov" and the Kaliningrad plant "Yantar" were founded in 1977 and went into operation almost simultaneously - in last days 1980 Since the development of the Kinzhal complex was thoroughly delayed, the acceptance of the ships by the fleet was more than conditional. Several ships, up to the fifth in the series, surrendered without missile guidance stations.

In total, at the “Plant them. Zhdanov" until the autumn of 1988, four ships were built under serial numbers from 731 to 734: "Vice-Admiral Kulakov", "Marshal Vasilevsky", "Admiral Tributs", "Admiral Levchenko".

Until the end of 1991, eight BODs were built at the Yantar plant in Kaliningrad under serial numbers from 111 to 117: Udaloy, Admiral Zakharov, Admiral Spiridonov, Marshal Shaposhnikov, Simferopol, Admiral Vinogradov, "Admiral Kharlamov", "Admiral Panteleev".

Over the years of service, the BOD Project 1155 has generally proven itself to be a reliable and efficient ship. It is significant that in the difficult period of the 1990-2000s. of the 11 BODs built, only the first three ships built by the Kaliningrad plant and Marshal Vasilevsky were decommissioned, and most of the ships of Project 1155 are part of the fleet. At the same time, Udaloy, Marshal Vasilevsky and Vice Admiral Kulakov never received the Kinzhal complex.

In addition to 12 large anti-submarine ships of pr. 1155 and one improved, built according to pr. 11551 - "Admiral Chabanenko", four "Dagger" complexes with 192 missiles were installed on the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of pr. 11434 "Baku" (since 1990 - "Admiral of the Fleet Soviet Union Gorshkov”) and on the only aircraft carrier of our fleet, pr.11435, which has changed many names and is now called “Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union”. By the time these ships were being designed, there was a common understanding among sailors and shipbuilders that ships this class should carry only self-defense weapons, and the tasks of air cover on distant approaches should be solved by air defense systems installed on escort ships. Two Kinzhal complexes with eight launch modules for 64 missiles were supposed to be installed as an auxiliary "anti-aircraft caliber" on the nuclear heavy missile cruiser pr. 11442 "Peter the Great", but in fact the ship was equipped with only one antenna post.

One air defense system "Dagger" with an ammunition load of 32 missiles was placed on the ships of project 11540 "Neustrashimy" and "Yaroslav the Wise", officially classified as patrol ships, but in terms of displacement and dimensions approximately corresponding to the BOD pr.61, massively built in the 1960s.

Thus, apart from the experimental MPK-104, a total of 36 Kinzhal anti-aircraft missile systems (1324 missiles) were installed on 17 ships of our fleet.

Since 1993, the export modification of the "Dagger" complex under the name "Blade" has been repeatedly demonstrated at various international exhibitions and salons, but there is no information about its deliveries abroad.

Nevertheless, the Kinzhal air defense system has become one of the most advanced examples of domestic missile weapons, which best meets modern conditions anti-aircraft combat at sea. The relatively short range of defeat is not its significant drawback.

Low-altitude targets, primarily guided weapons, will one way or another be detected at a short distance. As the experience of local wars testifies, their carriers, apparently, will soar over the radio horizon only for an extremely short period of time to clarify the location of the ship they are attacking and launch their missiles. Therefore, the defeat of carrier aircraft by longer-range anti-aircraft systems seems unlikely. But sooner or later, the missiles launched by the planes will approach the object of attack. And here all the advantages of one of the most advanced domestic anti-aircraft systems"Dagger" - short reaction time, high fire performance, multi-channel, effective operation of the warhead in an adaptive mode of application against targets of various classes.

V. Korovin, R. Angelsky

Based on the materials of the journal "Technique and Armament" No. 5, 2014

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The unique research of Russian scientists and the development of engineers made it possible to create a unique hypersonic aviation missile system "Kinzhal", which, according to independent experts, is today one of the best and most powerful weapons in the world. In fact, Russia became the first country to successfully test and start using hypersonic weapons, which the United States has so far only dreamed of, which in turn ensures the country's high defense capability and high military potential. What is the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system?

What is a "dagger"?

Due to the fact that the development of domestic scientists and engineers is unique and secret, true information the purpose and capabilities of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system are not disclosed, however, it is known that it includes a carrier aircraft and a hypersonic missile. Warhead missiles of the Kinzhal complex can be equipped with both a conventional warhead and a nuclear one, which allows you to inflict colossal damage to the enemy. Max speed the flight of the rocket of the Kinzhal air-missile complex is about 12250 km / h, which means that the rocket will be able to cover a distance of 2000 kilometers in less than 10 minutes.

Considering hypersonic speed missile flight, the Kinzhal aviation missile system makes useless job air defense and missile defense systems, which is already of concern to the US Department of Defense, as this means that against modern Russian weapons there is simply no protection.

No less important key feature hypersonic aviation missile system "Dagger" is that a missile with a warhead can maneuver in any part of the terrain, which makes its flight imperceptible.

Carrier aircraft for "Dagger"

Given the fact that the Kinzhal air and missile system is a modern development, the Russian Su-57 fighter-bomber will most likely be used as a carrier aircraft. There is no official confirmation of this yet, however, given the fact that the aircraft has not yet begun to enter service Russian army, it is likely that this model is the best suited for the intended purposes.

Skepticism and facts

Despite the fact that Vladimir Putin himself announced the completion of testing and development of the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system, noting that the complex itself is already on experimental combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District, this statement has a lot of skeptics. Skepticism is primarily due to the fact that on the presented video materials, traces of editing were noticed, on which, a few moments before the rocket explosion, the substitution of the object that was struck was visible.

Of course, this can be explained by the fact that the developers, due to the secrecy of the air-missile complex, decided not to reveal its real capabilities, however, this is unlikely.

No less skepticism is caused by the fact that earlier Russian scientists did not announce the development hypersonic weapons, and the implementation of the project itself would most likely take at least 5-6 years, not to mention the allocation of colossal financial resources.

Be that as it may, given the officially presented data, today the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation missile system is ultimate weapon, while, with a high degree of confidence, we can say that scientists will certainly continue to improve it.

The Russian Armed Forces received the Kinzhal aviation missile system (ARC). Vladimir Putin spoke about this in his message Federal Assembly. "Heart" new system is a hypersonic missile capable of performing complex maneuvers. It strikes targets within a radius of more than 2,000 km with high accuracy. On December 1 last year, the newest ARCs took up experimental combat duty in the Southern Military District. According to experts, the video shown during the president's speech showed an aviation version of the Iskander ground-based operational-tactical missile system (OTRK). It has been modified for high-altitude supersonic launch. At the same time, the "Dagger" refers to defensive weapons.

According to experts, the new ARC is capable of overcoming any missile defense in a matter of minutes and destroying even underground objects protected by concrete with high accuracy.

— The most important stage development modern systems weapons was the creation of a high-precision hypersonic aviation missile system, which has no analogues in the world. Its tests have been successfully completed, and, moreover, from December 1 last year, the complex began to carry out experimental combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District, Vladimir Putin said during his speech.

As the president noted, the unique flight characteristics of the high-speed carrier aircraft make it possible to deliver the missile to the drop point in a matter of minutes.

“At the same time, a rocket flying at a hypersonic speed ten times the speed of sound also maneuvers in all parts of the flight path, which also allows it to overcome all existing ones and, I think, promising systems air defense and missile defense, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads to the target at a distance of more than 2 thousand km. We called this system “Kinzhal,” summed up Vladimir Putin.

During the speech, a video with a combat training launch of the "Dagger" was shown.

“The video clearly shows that a modified aeroballistic missile of the 9M723 series of the Iskander complex hangs under the fuselage of the MiG-31,” noted Chief Editor Internet project MilitaryRussia Dmitry Kornev. - The nose of the rocket is streamlined, with several constrictions. You can also see that the engine compartment has a characteristic barrel shape. The Kinzhal missile differs from the land-based version of the Iskander with a redesigned tail section and reduced rudders. Also in the tail of the rocket there is a special plug. Apparently, it protects the engine nozzles when flying at supersonic speeds. After the rocket is launched from the MiG-31, the plug is separated.

The first schemes with the upgraded 9M723 missiles installed on the MiG-31 appeared on various forums on the Internet about eight years ago. Apparently, they were copied from a brochure-prospect of one of the companies of the Russian military-industrial complex.

Judging by the video shown during Vladimir Putin's speech, immediately after the launch, the rocket is gaining altitude along a ballistic trajectory. After that, she begins to dive sharply. In the target area, the product performs complex maneuvers. They allow you to evade enemy air defenses, as well as provide more accurate aiming. The missile can hit both stationary and moving objects.

- Overclocked to supersonic speed, the MiG-31 plays the role of the "first stage", which several times increases the flight range and speed of the 9M723. After launch, by climbing and diving, the rocket gains hypersonic speed, as well as the necessary energy for maneuvering, Dmitry Kornev noted. - Although the 9M723 is considered aeroballistic, its trajectory in the final section is quite complicated. Due to the received energy, the rocket can perform complex maneuvers.

According to the expert, this product contains special blocks for overcoming anti-missile defense - decoys and jammers. 9M723 can be equipped with optical or radar homing heads. The first detects the target by combining the image stored in its memory with what the camera sees. It is better suited for the destruction of stationary objects. The second is looking for targets on the reflected radar signals. It serves to destroy moving targets, in particular ships.

- 9M723 - a fully developed and tested system. She has homing heads, anti-missile defense systems and the ability to perform maneuvers, - said military historian Dmitry Boltenkov. - It would take at least 7-10 years to create an aircraft missile with similar capabilities from scratch. It would take another 2-3 years for testing. In the case of the "Dagger", the developers and the military managed in just eight years. It is also quite understandable why the MiG-31 was chosen as the carrier. The "thirty-first" has a high carrying capacity, powerful engines. He is the only one capable of accelerating to supersonic speed and at the same time launching a five-ton 9M723 rocket. Not without reason, in the late 1980s, anti-satellite weapons were tested on the MiG-31.

As military expert Vladislav Shurygin noted, despite the unique capabilities, the "Dagger" is defensive weapon.

- In the event of aggressive actions of the enemy, this system allows you to destroy its critical infrastructure, - the expert explained. - For example, to prevent hitting cruise missiles from ships. "Knock out" warehouses, airfields, headquarters and command posts. "Dagger" was a good response to the US deployment of European missile defense.

The development of missiles of the 9M723 family began in the late 1980s. Test launches of products started in 1994 at the Kapustin Yar test site. In 2004, after the completion of state tests, the 9M723 was put into service.