hypersonic precision missiles have rendered [aircraft carrier strike groups] obsolete overnight.

Today's Substack: why Russia's hypersonic weapons change everything. They've rendered US aircraft carrier strike groups obsolete overnight.  https://t.co/buJGWgy4pR

— Alex (Sasha) Krainer (@NakedHedgie) March 22, 2023

Some interesting details. 

It was in 2018 that Vladimir Putin took the stage to present Russia's new hypersonic weapons. The term "hypersonic" refers to missiles that fly at speeds of 5 Mach and higher. At the time, many in the west dismissed Putin's claims and thought it was a bluff. We now know that he wasn't bluffing. Russia is the only country in the world that has deployment-ready hypersonic missiles - not one but three types: Zircons, Kinzhals, and Avantguards. 

Domazet explained why these weapons are radical game changers in warfare. Namely, in World War 1, tanks were the game-changing military technology; since World War 2, it’s been the air force. Aircraft carrier strike groups have been an irresistible force wherever they traveled, dominating the seas ever since. But hypersonic precision missiles have rendered that force obsolete overnight.

THE KINZHAL TURN MIGHTY AIRCRAFT CARRIER STRIKE GROUPS INTO SITTING DUCKS

Russia's new Kinzhal missile flies at speeds of Mach 12 to Mach 15 and nothing in western defensive arsenals can stop its strike. During the war in Ukraine, Russia was a stunning demonstration of its power. The first Kinzhal strike, delivered one month after the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine, was perhaps the most significant: Russian forces targeted a large weapons depot in Ukraine [that] had been built to withstand a nuclear strike. It was buried 170 meters (over 500 ft) underground and protected by several layers of armored concrete.

The Kinzhal flies at altitudes of between 20 and 40 km, with a maximum range of 2,000 km. When above the target, it dives perpendicularly and accelerates to 15 Mach, gathering enormous kinetic energy in addition to its explosive payload. That first strike with a single Kinzhal missile destroyed Ukraine's nuke-proof underground weapons depot. This was a message for the west.