Kh-47M2 Kinzhal

Intelligence Summary: Kh-47M2 Kinzhal — Russia's Air-Launched Hypersonic Missile with Plasma Stealth

Node Identity The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (Russian: "Dagger," NATO reporting name AS-24 Killjoy) is a Russian air-launched hypersonic ballistic missile deployed on MiG-31K interceptor aircraft since December 2017. It was one of the six "super weapons" announced by Putin in his March 2018 address. The missile is reported to use artificial plasma stealth technology derived from the Keldysh Research Center's plasma stealth program.

Strategic Relevance Kinzhal represents the operational deployment of artificial plasma stealth technology on a combat weapon system — distinct from Avangard's passive (aerothermal) plasma stealth. While Avangard generates plasma naturally through hypersonic compression heating at Mach 20+, Kinzhal reportedly uses an active plasma generation system to reduce its radar cross-section (RCS) at lower speeds. This connects directly to Dr. Anatoliy Koroteyev's 1999 public disclosure of a Keldysh Research Center plasma stealth device that reduces RCS by a factor of 100 (20 dB), tested on a Su-27 IB fighter-bomber. The deployment of plasma stealth on Kinzhal demonstrates that Russia has transitioned this technology from laboratory demonstration to operational weapons system. NPO Mash previously developed the "Marabu" plasma-field generating system for the 3M25 Meteorit cruise missile, which "created around it an impenetrable for the radar radiation cloud of ionized gas" — establishing the industrial precedent for active plasma stealth on cruise missiles.

Technical Focus / Capabilities Kinzhal is reported to achieve speeds of Mach 10 with a range of 2,000+ km when launched from a MiG-31K at high altitude. The missile's reported plasma stealth system generates an ionized gas cloud around the vehicle that absorbs or deflects radar waves, reducing its effective RCS. The technology is distinct from Avangard's passive plasma sheath: it actively generates plasma at speeds where natural aerothermal ionization would be insufficient. The plasma stealth effect is frequency-dependent — most effective against lower-frequency early warning radars (L-band, S-band) and less effective against higher-frequency tracking radars (X-band, Ku-band). The missile has been used in combat in Ukraine, providing real-world operational data on plasma stealth effectiveness.

Network Linkage Kinzhal uses Plasma Stealth technology, is announced in the Putin March 2018 Speech, and connects to the Keldysh Research Center's plasma stealth program through Dr. Anatoliy Koroteyev's disclosed technology. It represents the operational deployment of active plasma stealth, complementing Avangard's passive plasma stealth approach and connecting to the broader Russian plasma weapons ecosystem through shared plasma-radar interaction physics.