Zirkon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 kilometers and can travel at several times the speed of sound.
A frigate of the Russian Navy equipped with hypersonic anti-ship missiles of the new generation (Zirkon) conducted military exercises in the English Channel and then began to perform tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday. TASR informs about it based on a Reuters report.
The frigate’s crew trained in the fight against terrorism, in which they reflect simulated air and sea attacks of the enemy. “The frigate of the Northern Fleet Admiral Golovko has finished sailing through the English Channel and is currently continuing to perform tasks in designated parts of the Atlantic Ocean,” RIA Novosti quoted the fleet’s statement as saying.
The ship left its main base in northern Russia on November 2. This is the first long-distance voyage of the multi-purpose frigate since its acceptance into the Russian Navy in December 2023, TASS added. Just before it was put into service, then Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the warship would be equipped with Zirkon missiles.
Zirkon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 kilometers and can travel at several times the speed of sound, which makes it difficult to defend against them. At the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow began mass deliveries of these missiles in 2023 as part of the country’s efforts to strengthen its nuclear forces.
Together with the Avangard supersonic glider, which entered service in 2019, the Zirkon forms the central element of Russia’s hypersonic arsenal. Moscow sees these weapons as a potential means of breaking through increasingly sophisticated US missile defenses, which Putin has warned could one day shoot down Russian nuclear missiles, Reuters writes.
