JAKARTA - Russia's Black Sea Fleet is said to be using X-31 supersonic missiles on Su-30SM fighter jets in special military operations in Ukraine, a Crimean law enforcement source said.
"The Black Sea Fleet uses X-31 guided missiles known in the West as Krypton on its Su-30SM jets," the source said.
TASS has yet to obtain official comment on the matter. Previously, there were no official reports of the use of X-31 missiles on Su-30SM fighters in air strikes.
The X-31 or Kh-31 or the reported version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) AS-17 Krypton, said to be capable of reaching speeds of Mach 3.5, became the first supersonic anti-ship missile to be launched from a fighter aircraft.
Citing the Rosoboronexport website, the Kh-31P medium-range supersonic anti-radiation missile, designed to counter enemy air defenses, has high supersonic speed through the use of a scramjet with a built-in booster.
The missile can be carried by MiG-29K, MiG-29M, MiG-29SMT, MiG-29UBT, MiG-31, Su-24M, Su-25T, Su-30MK, and Su-35 aircraft.
Previously, Russia was also mentioned for the first time using Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in combat in Ukraine. The missile was used to destroy a large arsenal of weapons in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine in March.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that this was the first time Russia had deployed a hypersonic Kinzhal system since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
VOIR éGALEMENT:
Defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a news conference that the underground warehouse hit by the Kinzhal system on Friday held Ukrainian missiles and aircraft ammunition, according to press conference footage shared by Russian news agencies.
But Reuters was unable to independently verify Konashenkov's statement about the March attack, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time.
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