Guwahati News Desk: The Russian military, on Monday, reported that it had successfully tested a Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has touted as part of a new generation of missile systems in the world.
The Defence Ministry of Russia informed that the missile was launched from an Admiral Groshkov frigate, located in the White Sea in the north of Russia and also, that the missile had successfully hit a target, more than 350 kilometers (217 miles) away on the coast of the Barents Sea.
President Putin stated that the Zircon missile would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
It was in October, on Putin’s birthday, when an earlier test launch had taken place and back then, the President had hailed it as a “big event” for the country, stating, “Equipping our armed forces the army and the navy with the latest, truly unparalleled weapon systems will certainly ensure the defense capability of our country in the long term.”
With that stated earlier, Russia is now set to arm warships and submarines with the Zircon missile.
Regarding the missile, Zircon is a winged, anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile which was first mentioned by Putin during his address to the nation in 2018.
The defence ministry of Russia further stated, “The tactical and technical characteristics of the Tsirkon missile were confirmed during the tests.”
Meanwhile, the Russian defence forces are also looking at upgrading the MiG-31s and the PAK-DP interceptors while also including the new generation of drones.