It does rather look like South Africa is cementing itself on the wrong side of the whole Russia/Ukraine thing. For clarity, I am aware that there are many different viewpoints on the conflict, but I’m using the term “the wrong side” because the side SA is landing on is not the side that I agree with, and when I look at the people who do agree with it (Tinfoilers, Republicans, Trumpies, Racists, Tankies, Antivaxxers, and “Tyranny” users), then I am wholly convinced that I am on the right side.
SA is making sure that they end up on the other side – the wrong side. And they’re about to help make history for all the wrong reasons by hosting the Russian Navy (and the Chinese Navy) while Russia attempts to launch the first ever hypersonic missile:
The Zircon, sometimes translated as Tsirkon, is a hypersonic missile, a class being furiously developed by China, France, and the United States among others. With speeds that Russia claims can hit Mach 9, the weapon could be effectively unstoppable if correctly deployed…
Not good.
I have to break off here and wonder if Business Insider is actually a serious news source though, with lines like this:
That sounds like an unfunny line from this blog. (An oxymoron, I know.)
How far can a Zirkon/Tsirkon go?
If the claimed range of the Zirkon is accurate, such a capital ship could be destroyed by an enemy as far away as Durban is from Cape Town.
To be fair, if it were launched from Cape Town and it hit Durban (it would take less than 7 minutes to get there), it might tidy the place up a bit.
But look, this is serious business, and it’s not great, but we’re not alone in our (soon to be more than) tacit support of Putin:
And I recognise the history and imperialism, but I really don’t see the difference between that and the current stealthy colonisation of Africa by China and Russia.
If the joint exercise were in Cape waters, I’d be there waving my Ukrainian flag. But it’s in Durban, and don’t want to get sick, so I’m feeling ashamed from a distance instead.