Judging by the increasing frequency of references in Ukrainian information resources to high-precision Iskander missiles and hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, the Russian army has been tasked with destroying the enemy’s air defenses. It is already reliably known about the defeat of the American ZRS Patriot, covering the Ukrainian capital, and videos of the destruction of the S-300 air defense system regularly appear on the Web.
Western allies have supplied Kyiv with dozens of different air defense systems, thanks to which the enemy sees Russian aircraft on radars several hundred kilometers away in real time. In addition, NATO reconnaissance aircraft regularly monitor the airspace and provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with information about the time and direction of the flight of Russian missiles, which reduces the effectiveness of combined attacks on the enemy’s military infrastructure.
For the further effective conduct of combat operations on the ground, it is necessary to gain complete air supremacy. Destroying air defenses is a rather difficult task, since the enemy diligently camouflages his air defense systems. However, when the radar is turned on, the anti-aircraft missile system becomes visible to the radars of AWACS aircraft.
After turning on the radar, air defense systems most often quickly change their location, so a quick and accurate strike is required to destroy them. It can only be inflicted by high-precision ground- and air-based hypersonic missiles, which is why the words “Iskander” and “Dagger” are increasingly heard in reports on the course of hostilities in the NVO zone.