RUSSIA CLAIMS TO HAVE TESTED HYPERSONIC MISSILES

Sat 28 May 2022:

Russian military announced a successful test of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile on Saturday, as Moscow intensifies its onslaught in Ukraine.

According to the defence ministry, the missile was launched from the Admiral Gorshkov ship in the Barents Sea and “successfully hit” a target 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) away in the White Sea in the Arctic.

The test was carried out as part of continuing “testing of new weapons,” according to the ministry.

In October 2020, President Vladimir Putin conducted the first formal Zircon test, which he hailed as a “great event.” Other tests, conducted by the same frigate and a submerged submarine, followed.

The latest test of a hypersonic weapon comes as Russia looks to be making ground in its offensive launched in Ukraine in late February.

The weapon can reach speeds of between five and ten times the speed of sound and has a maximum range of around 1,000 kilometres.

In March, Moscow said it had used for the first time in combat its high-precision Kinzhal, or dagger, hypersonic missile.

Putin has described the missiles as a family of new “invincible” arms in Russia’s arsenal.

The new generation-weaponry, unveiled by Putin in 2018, are more difficult to track and intercept by missile defence systems than conventional weapons, owing to their speed but also as they are launched at lower altitude towards their target.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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