The delivery of the weapons will begin in the coming months, the Russian President said
The president Vladimir Putin said today that the Russian navy may be equipped with Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles within the next few months and that the area where they are deployed will depend on Russian interests.
Speaking on Russian Fleet Day in St Petersburg, Putin praised Tsar Peter the Great for turning Russia into a major maritime power. Putin made no direct reference to Ukraine.
But the Russian president said he had signed a new naval doctrine, the details of which were not made public, and cited the Zircon supersonic cruise missiles as unique in the world.
“The delivery of these (missiles) to the Russian armed forces will begin within the next few months,” Putin said. “The frigate Admiral Gorshkov will be the first to be put into combat mode with these formidable weapons…”.
“The key here is the capability of the Russian navy… It is able to respond with lightning speed to anyone who decides to violate our sovereignty and freedom,” he added.
The hypersonic weapons can travel at nine times the speed of sound, and Russia has conducted previous test launches of the Zircon from warships and submarines in the past year.
RES-EMP
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