"Unique advantages and increased combat capabilities": Putin announced plans to strengthen the Navy with hypersonic weapons

The combat capabilities of the Russian Navy will increase, among other things, thanks to hypersonic weapons. This was stated by President Vladimir Putin during a speech at the main naval parade in St. Petersburg.

"Unique advantages and an increase in the combat capabilities of the fleet will be achieved through the widespread introduction of advanced digital technologies that have no analogues in the world of hypersonic strike systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, due to the most effective means of defense," Putin said.

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief noted that the modern Russian fleet includes "ships equipped with high-precision weapons, strategic submarine cruisers and multipurpose submarines, the latest aircraft and other aircraft, unique weapons and special equipment."

“The level of equipment of our navy is constantly growing. This year, forty ships and vessels of various classes will be accepted into its composition, and a few days ago, six new ships of the far sea zone were laid down at three leading shipyards of Russia, ”the head of state added.

At the same time, the Russian leader stressed that the main force of the Russian Navy "has always been and remains people." He noted that service at sea is chosen at the call of the heart, realizing that this will require courage, discipline and a spirit of steel.

“I know: the heirs - the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the victorious sailors - will never let the Motherland down, they will be faithful to the precepts of the great Russian admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov - to think“ above all about the glory of Russia and the native fleet, ”Putin said.

On Sunday, July 26, the Russian Federation celebrates the Day of the Navy. On this occasion, celebrations were held in a number of coastal cities of the country, and the main naval parade was held in St. Petersburg. It was attended by sailors of the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea fleets and the Caspian flotilla.

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In addition, the Ministry of Defense of Russia noted that work is now being successfully completed on the creation of several modern weapons systems for the Navy. We are talking about the underwater complex, equipped with unmanned vehicles "Poseidon", and the hypersonic missile system "Zircon".

“The Navy, together with enterprises of the defense industry, is testing the first nuclear submarine launched in March 2019 - the carrier of the Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicles. The ship's crew continues the practical development of new weapons on a standard carrier, ”the message says.

For the first time, Vladimir Putin officially announced an underwater unmanned vehicle with a nuclear warhead on March 1, 2018 in a message to the Federal Assembly.

The head of state pointed out that the unique device is "practically invulnerable" and is capable of moving at a depth of several hundred meters "at a speed that is multiples of the speed of submarines, the most modern torpedoes and all types of surface ships." At the same time, the system is distinguished by low noise and high maneuverability.

Any technical and tactical characteristics of the Poseidon are still not disclosed. At the same time, the media, both Russian and foreign, have various data on the length (16-24 m), diameter (1.5-2 m), speed (90-110 knots) of a nuclear drone, as well as the power of its warhead ( from one megaton to several tens).

“Poseidon’s mission is to retaliate with nuclear retaliation against the enemy if he attacks Russia. Therefore, first of all, it is the strengthening of the strategic nuclear forces and their naval components. And in general, this, of course, will significantly increase the combat capabilities of the Russian Navy. It is very important to emphasize that this strategic weapon is intended only for retaliation. In conditions when the United States does not want to prolong the START III treaty and, obviously, an uncontrolled spiral of the arms race awaits us ahead, the Poseidons will make an important contribution to maintaining a strategic balance with the United States. So that they do not have the illusion of an unpunished attack on Russia, "Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, told RT.

• Oceanic multipurpose system "Poseidon"
• RIA News
• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In addition, the Ministry of Defense also said that the tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile are being successfully completed.

"The test launches carried out from the frigate" Admiral of the Soviet Union Fleet Gorshkov "confirmed the unique tactical and technical characteristics of this missile in terms of range and accuracy of fire, as well as its hypersonic flight speed," the department stressed.

Let us remind you that Zircon is capable of speeds of about Mach 9. The range of destruction of sea and ground targets exceeds 1 thousand km. It is expected that the complex will be adopted by the end of 2021.

As noted by military expert Viktor Litovkin, "Zircon" will be placed in the universal launchers "Onyx" and "Caliber".

“This is the first unique quality. The second is the Zircon, a hypersonic missile that flies at speeds in excess of Mach nine. Not only does it fly at such a tremendous speed and it is impossible to detect it by means of reconnaissance, but it also maneuvers. That is, it can change the direction of flight and, naturally, it is impossible to aim anti-missile defense systems at it. "Zircon" is a weapon of today and a weapon of the future, which will allow our Navy to be the most powerful and advanced in the world and not be afraid of any enemy, "the interlocutor of RT explained.

• RIA News
• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In turn, the captain of the 1st rank of the reserve, military expert Vasily Dandykin noted that the "Zircon" is a very serious weapon for fighting against groupings of ships.

“Unlike the United States, which spends huge sums on the military budget, we take not the quantity, but the quality of weapons. Therefore, an opinion has already been expressed in the West that it is allegedly "incorrect" to take such missiles into service. But this is a defensive weapon. If suddenly there is a quantitative advantage in forces, then this missile, of course, will help to solve many problems. And it is very good that at the highest level it has been announced that such missiles will soon enter the equipment of our surface and submarine fleet, ”Dandykin said in an interview with RT.