Russia has tested about a dozen hypersonic cruise missiles called the Zircon.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, ten cruise missile frigates and two other missiles were fired from submarines. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the experiment a “big step” for the country.
Russia leased the Tartus naval base from Syria in 2017, for a period of 49 years. The chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, said that “Zircon missiles can dock [in the port of Tartus], which will cover the entire sea.” ⬇https://t.co/qxsy810gYJ
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He says the missile tests are a significant addition to Russia’s defense capabilities. On the other hand, the chairman of the defense committee of the Russian parliament, the Duma, Andrei Kratapulov, has said that the Zircon missile could be launched from the Syrian “Tartus” base and that the whole sea would be targeted.
The Zircon missile Z is capable of flying at nine times the speed of 22 knots and has a range of one thousand kilometers.
The purpose of the Zircon is to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines. The first Zircon anti-ship missile will also be mounted on a heavy nuclear-powered cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov”.
According to him, last week, President Putin announced the development of hypersonic weapons in 2018, saying that they could hit anywhere in the world and escape the US missile defense system.
