“The ship is equipped with the latest Zircon hypersonic missile system,” the Russian leader said, wishing the ship’s crew success in their “service to the motherland.” The frigate, Admiral Gorshkov, will be stationed in the Atlantic and Indian oceans and sail to the Mediterranean.
Nine times the speed of sound
According to Sergey Shoigu, the frigate is capable of “carrying out targeted and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land.” The hypersonic missiles could fly nine times the speed of sound and have a range of more than 1,000km.
Russia, China and the United States are currently engaged in a hypersonic arms race, Reuters reports. Due to high speeds and good maneuverability, hypersonic weapons are more difficult to intercept than regular ICBMs.
Live Blog | Day 315 of the war in Ukraine