Hypersonic missiles, Russia's lethal weapon 3:07
(CNN) --
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent one of his country's most modern warships armed with advanced hypersonic missiles on a long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, this report reported. Wednesday Russian state media.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate left an unidentified port in northern Russia on Wednesday after Putin spoke with the ship's commander and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu via video, according to a report by the TASS news agency. .
Putin boasted that the ship was carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles, long-range weapons that travel at more than five times the speed of sound and are harder to detect and intercept.
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Russia deploys hypersonic missile for combat use, state media claim
“It has no analogues in any country in the world,” Putin said, according to TASS.
“I am sure that such powerful weapons will safely protect Russia from possible external threats and help ensure the national interests of our country,” he added.
Russia tested the Zircon system in late 2021, firing from Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea and hitting a naval target more than 400 kilometers away, according to reports at the time.
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The current mission will be their first deployment in a potential combat situation.
"Efforts during the campaign will focus on countering threats against Russia, maintaining regional peace and stability together with friendly countries," Shoigu said in the TASS report.
Russia's war against neighboring Ukraine is now in its 10th month, although that conflict was not specifically mentioned in the TASS report.
Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the Zircon missile could be used in that war.
Russian hypersonic missiles.
If it works as the Russians advertise, it's a fearsome weapon.
The US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance says the Zircon is "a maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile" with a range of between 500 and 1,000 kilometers.
The alliance says its speed has been set at Mach 8, or nearly 6,000 miles per hour.
Hypersonic refers to any speed greater than Mach 5 (3836 mph).
“If that information is accurate, the Zircon missile would be the fastest in the world, making it almost impossible to defend against it based on its speed alone,” the alliance says on its website.
The site also points to the missile's plasma cloud as another "valuable" feature.
“During the flight, the missile is completely covered by a cloud of plasma that absorbs radio frequency rays and makes the missile invisible to radars.
This allows the missile to remain undetected on its way to the target”, he indicates.
Add to that the Zircon's ability to alter its flight path, all of which makes it an extremely formidable weapon.
However, using the Zircon missiles aboard the Admiral Gorshkov against targets in the Ukraine is a logistical challenge.
From a Russian perspective, the optimal firing range for the weapons would be from the Black Sea, south of the Ukraine.
But to get there, the Russian warship would have to pass through the Turkish-controlled Bosphorus Strait, and Ankara said from the early stages of the war that it would not allow such access to foreign warships.
Russia uses hypersonic missiles for the first time in history 2:19
While the Gorshkov could theoretically fire at Ukraine from the northern tip of the Mediterranean, the flight path to Ukraine would pass through NATO countries, something that would be seen as a major escalation in Russian aggression.
TASS said the Gorshkov is also armed with Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, weapons that have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, according to the CSIS Missile Defense Project.
But those weapons, even with their longer range, would face the same problems getting to Ukraine as the Zircons.
Still, Admiral Gorshkov's deployment gave Putin something positive to talk about amid heavy Russian losses against Ukraine, including one of his most prized warships, the Moskva, which sank last April off what Ukraine he says it was an attack by his missile forces.
Analyst Carl Schuster said the deployment serves as a political statement for Putin.
“He is trying to show that Russia is still a global player despite the costs and international condemnation of his assault on Ukraine,” Schuster said.
"He can show his domestic audiences that the international reaction is not as effective as claimed in the Western media and that Russia still has friends in key areas," Schuster said.
"Internationally, he is making the point that the sanctions have not affected the Russian navy's ability to operate and that it remains a global maritime power."
Putin praised his army for the deployment, according to TASS.
“This is a great joint work that ended with the expected good result,” Putin said.
“We will continue to develop the combat potential of the Armed Forces, we will manufacture advanced models of weapons and equipment that will protect Russia's security for decades to come.
This is a promising weapon,” Putin said in the TASS report.
hypersonic missile