Avangard: Russia deploys hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles – By Al Jazeera Newsroom (Al Jazeera) / Dec 27 2019
Following years of tests, first missile unit equipped with Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle enters combat duty.
Russia’s defence minister reported to President Vladimir Putin that a new hypersonic weapon of intercontinental range became operational Friday following years of tests.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin that the first missile unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered combat duty, the Defence Ministry said.
The military has said that the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound.
“I congratulate you on this landmark event for the military and the entire nation,” Shoigu said during a conference call with top military officials.
The Strategic Missile Forces chief, General Sergei Karakayev, said during the call that the Avangard was put on duty with a unit in the Orenburg region in the southern Ural Mountains.
Putin unveiled the Avangard among other prospective weapons systems in his state-of-the-nation address in March 2018, noting that its ability to make sharp manoeuvres on its way to a target will render missile defence useless.
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