Dec. 21, 2021 10:07 pm
Novel Russian hypersonic missiles that can theoretically overcome the current defense systems have ended their test phase and should be delivered soon, as the Russian Defense Minister announced.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Russia’s new high-tech hypersonic missile, which can fly through the air at nine times the speed of sound, has completed its testing phase and will soon roll off the assembly lines.
At a meeting of senior military officials on Tuesday, the defense minister said the Zircon missile testing was now complete and delivery to the military would begin in 2022. He reported that the country would invest 258 billion rubles (EUR 3.1 billion) in upgrading its arsenal in the coming years. Shoigu said:
“By 2026, the number of carriers of high-precision long-range weapons will increase by 30 percent and the inventory of cruise missiles of various types will double.”
He added that 21 launch vehicles with ICBMs will be in combat use by 2022.
The hypersonic cruise missile Zirkon is designed for superiority at sea and can reach a speed of Mach-9 – nine times the speed of sound or around 10,000 kilometers per hour. According to official reports from the Russian Navy, the missile will help attack enemy aircraft carrier groups from a long distance without being intercepted.
The speed of the missile combined with a reduced radar cross-section theoretically enables it to reach the targeted aircraft carrier without any chance of defense or retaliation. It should also be able to intercept enemy supersonic missiles.
In November, the authorities announced the last of a series of successful tests on the zircon when the Admiral Gorshkov, a warship stationed in the White Sea, successfully hit a sea target more than 400 kilometers away.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the tests were going well and that the weapons would be delivered to the Russian Navy in 2022. In a televised address he said:
“Now it is particularly important to develop and implement the technologies necessary to create new hypersonic weapon systems, high-powered lasers and robotic systems that will be able to effectively combat potential military threats, which means that they will keep ours safe Will continue to strengthen the country. “
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