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By Andrew Stanton
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Russian AS-24 "Killjoy" missiles reportedly placed in Belarus are capable of carrying nuclear payloads and traveling at much higher speeds than the U.S.-produced HIMARS supplied to Ukraine.
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that imagery showed Russian jets and a canister associated with an AS-24 Killjoy missile parked at Belarus' Machulishchy Airfield last month, marking the first time the hypersonic missile has been seen inside the Russian ally's borders.
Russia has "occasionally" launched the missile in the Ukraine war, but stocks are limited, according to British intelligence. Placing the missiles in Belarus gives Russia an added advantage in terms of striking additional targets further west in Ukraine, which shares its northern border with Belarus. British intelligence noted the deployment has likely been carried out "to portray Belarus as increasingly complicit in the war."
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The hypersonic Killjoy missiles have many benefits for Russia's military over Ukraine, which for more than eight months has managed to blunt Moscow's military gains through its spirited defense effort bolstered by Western support. Specifically, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) provided by the United States have been attributed with shaping the course of the war in favor of the Ukrainians.
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But Killjoy missiles are capable of traveling at much higher speeds than HIMARS.
Missile speeds are typically measured by a "Mach number," which is essentially how it relates to the speed of sound—so a missile with a speed of Mach 2 is capable of traveling at twice the speed of sound.
Killjoy missiles can reach a maximum speed of Mach 12—which equates to roughly 9,207 miles per hour, according to the Eurasian Times.
Meanwhile, the GMLRS missiles fired from HIMARS in Ukraine are capable of traveling at speeds of Mach 2.5, or roughly 1,918 miles per hour, according to Military.com.
In addition to reaching high speeds, Killjoy missiles are also capable of carrying nuclear payloads.
Russia in May sold Belarus nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems. Nuclear tensions have grown in recent months as Russian President Vladimir Putin ramped up rhetoric surrounding use of the weapons as his military struggled to gain ground in Ukraine.
Putin has largely found himself a pariah in European politics, with most European leaders backing Ukraine. However, Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has emerged as one of Putin's closest global allies. Their relationship is particularly strategic because of the Belarus-Ukraine border, which allows easier access to Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
At the start of the war, some Russian troops entered Ukraine from Belarus. But in recent months, fighting has been contained to only the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine along its Russian border. Belarus has not officially joined the war.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence for comment.
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