Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen a test of a new hypersonic missile, declaring that the weapon is impossible to intercept and will guarantee the country’s security over the coming decades. Speaking to Russia’s military top brass on Wednesday after watching the live feed of the launch of the Avangard system from the defence ministry’s control room, Putin said the test was a “great success” and an “excellent New Year’s gift to the nation”……..
The new weapon, dubbed the Avangard, is of a type that the Pentagon has been both working on and worrying about as an arms race emerges among the United States, Russia and China for missiles that can maneuver easily and travel far faster than the speed of sound. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the test. After being launched by a rocket, a vehicle carrying a potentially nuclear payload detaches and glides back to earth at hypersonic speeds. It is so fast and agile, Putin claimed when he unveiled it in a speech in March, that it will be able to evade missile defenses for years to come.
This is a major event in the life of the armed forces and, perhaps, in the life of the country,” Putin told his cabinet ministers in televised remarks on Wednesday. He added that Russia now has a new kind of strategic weapon.”
The United States is also working on hypersonic missiles, some of them launched from airplanes, although U.S. officials have warned in recent months that the efforts lag behind those of potential adversaries. In recent years, the Pentagon has dramatically increased its budget for such initiatives.
By admin
January 11, 2019
