As part of the panoply of weapons developed by Moscow which ensures that they are unparalleled in the world, Russia announced on Monday that it had successfully tested its new hypersonic Zircon cruise missile.
"The frigate" Admiral Gorchkov "fired a hypersonic Zircon missile from the White Sea at a land target located on the coast of the Barents Sea," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
According to this press release, the missile which flew at Mach 7 “successfully reached the target located 350 kilometers away”.
"Invincible" weapons
The first official launch of a Zircon missile dates back to October 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin then hailing a “big event” for “the whole country”. At least two more tests have since taken place, each time from Admiral Gorchkov. Against a backdrop of tensions with Western countries, Russia has multiplied in recent years the announcements of new weapons presented as "invincible" by Vladimir Poutine.
Zircon is one of them.
With a maximum range of around 1,000 kilometers, it must equip surface ships and submarines of the Russian fleet.
Several other weapons such as the Kinjal hypersonic missile for the Air Force or the Bourevestnik nuclear-powered missile.
The first new generation Avangard hypersonic missiles, capable of reaching a speed of Mach 27 and changing course and altitude, were put into service with the Russian army in December 2019.
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Vladimir Poutine
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Russia
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