According to Russia's state TASS news agency, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov set sail on Wednesday for a voyage across the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
“The ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system Zircon,” said Putin in a video conference with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Igor Krokhmal, commander of the warship.
“I am sure that such powerful weapons will reliably protect Russia from potential external threats,” he added.
Putin also said that the missile had “no analogues in any country in the world,” the Reuters news agency reported.
The Russian military first test-launched a Zircon missile in October 2020, according to Reuters. At the time, the Russian defense ministry said that the missile flew at a speed of 8 Mach before hitting a target nearly 300 miles away.
Since then, several tests have been conducted, with the most recent one last May.
According to a US Congressional Research Service report quoted by the Reuters, Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles are designed to be used with nuclear warheads.
Reuters also reported that the target of a hypersonic weapon is much more difficult to calculate than for conventional missiles because of their maneuverability and speed, which reaches up to 3 kilometers per second.
(jh/gs)
Source: Reuters
