Canada Global (Web News) As the conflict in Ukraine rages on, Russian President Vladimir Putin has dispatched a ship armed with hypersonic cruise missiles to the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
On Wednesday, Putin took part in a video conference commemorating the launch of the Admiral Gorshkov cruiser.
The commander of the frigate, Igor Krokhmal, and Russia’s minister of defence, Sergei Shoigu, were also involved.
Putin announced that the ship is equipped with the most advanced hypersonic missile system, known as “Zircon,” which had no counterparts before Putin gave the order for it to enter military service.
“I would like to wish the team success in their work for the benefit of the Motherland,” he continued.
Shoigu said that the frigate would visit the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean.
Having a range of more than 1,000 kilometres and being able to penetrate any missile defence system, the hypersonic missiles on board, he claimed, could launch “precise and potent attacks on the enemy at sea and on land” (620 miles)
Hypersonic weapons can travel at more than five times the speed of sound.
This past year, as competition to develop hypersonic weapons with the United States and China has intensified, Russia has conducted test launches of the Zircon from warships and submarines.
According to Shoigu, the mission’s primary goals will be to “fight threats to Russia and to assist regional peace and stability in cooperation with friendly countries.”
