Russian military expert Vladimir Yelanosyan, writing for the Military-Industrial Courier, said the latest U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, one of the most heavily protected in the world today, cannot withstand an attack by Russia's Dagger hypersonic airborne missile system, Sputnik reported Dec. 16.
The Dagger system was first made public in March 2018, and the latest missile is carried by a MiG-31 long-range supersonic interceptor, Yelanosian said. The missile travels at Mach 10 and maneuvers along its entire trajectory. This combination of capabilities allows the Dagger to break through any existing air defense and anti-missile system. Its speed is achieved through carrier aircraft acceleration and it is capable of being launched outside the dense atmosphere at heights of 12 to 15 kilometers.
The latest U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is one of the world's most capable warships in terms of air defense, with its power plant and operations room protected by Kevlar (each Arleigh Burke-class destroyer uses more than 130 tons of Kevlar to protect key areas).
But Yelanosian recalled the 2000 explosion aboard the USS Cole, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The explosion was only 200-230 kilograms of TNT equivalent, and the two levels of armor protection in the middle of the hull were penetrated and the gas turbine was completely damaged, leaving the warship without power and control," he said. The explosion, which was not very powerful, also caused flooding of the sailors' compartment. One-sixth of the ship's crew (56) was killed or injured, including 17 crew members killed by the blast."
He argued that the destroyer's structural protection could not withstand the devastating effects of the anti-ship missile. He said, "That's why the Americans are betting on shipboard air defense systems for warships' air attack defense. Strong anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defenses compensate for weak structural protection, and warships are safeguarded by the versatile 'Aegis' combat system."
Yelanosian said Russian missile attacks should first target the warship's "brain." The expert wrote: "The 'Dagger', if it hits the combat information center, could ensure that the destroyer loses its tactical information processing capabilities ...... Air defense systems will have no chance against the 'Dagger' missile maneuvering from an altitude of 15 kilometers. Dagger' missile would have no ability to fight back."
Yelanosian believes that the Dagger hypersonic missile has a range of 2,000 kilometers, which is fatal to the destroyer's survivability.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)