Russia claims to be the first country in the world to commission hypersonic missiles. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the first regiment equipped with the "Avangard" type missiles had been operational since Friday morning. He spoke of a "milestone for the country and the army". According to an expert, Russia is the first country to have this technology.
Putin had previously described the "Avangard" rockets as an "absolute weapon" and advertised them as a "wonderful New Year's gift" for his country in December 2018 after successful initial tests. The missiles could break through missile defense systems, it said.
According to official information, the supersonic missile had been launched in southern Russia a year ago and had reached a destination on the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east of Russia. The Russian Army announced in 2018 that the first unit with weapons would be deployed at Orenburg in the Urals.
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Russia's new weapon: the Avangard hypersonic missileThe ICBMs are said to have a range of 4,000 kilometers. The government in Moscow stated that the airspeed was Mach 20, 20 times the speed of sound. Even a speed of Mach 27 should be possible - that would be more than 33,000 kilometers per hour.
Targets and altitude can be adjusted in flight
Since the target and the altitude of the missiles can still be changed in flight, Putin described the type of missile at the time as "practically invincible". Conventional ballistic missiles can hardly perform such flight maneuvers. After a short boost phase immediately after take-off, they fly without a drive towards the destination. Small control flaps can correct the trajectory minimally - however, the trajectory is largely fixed after the end of the boost phase. Not so with the "Avangard" rockets.
According to Russian information, these can break through any currently existing missile shield. The "Avangard" is the first intercontinental missile of its kind in the world, said Vasily Kashin, a researcher at the Moscow University of Economics, the AFP news agency. "It is a great scientific achievement."
According to Kremlin figures, the "Avangard" missiles were shown to US arms controllers in late November under the New Start arms control agreement. The missile did not violate the contract, it said.
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The New Start treaty was signed in 2010 by the then heads of state, Barack Obama and Dmitri Medwedew. It plans to reduce the number of ready-to-use nuclear warheads by a good third to 1,550 each, and to limit the number of carrier systems to 800 each.
The U.S. had withdrawn from the INF treaty with Russia in early 2019 to limit nuclear-powered medium-range missiles. Washington and the allies have long accused Moscow of violating the agreement with new cruise missiles. Putin had recently spoken out in favor of an extension of the agreement.
In the coming year, the Russian armed forces are to be equipped with another type of weapon, which Putin has described as "invincible". It is the "Sarmat" intercontinental ballistic missile in its fifth series.
