Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Russian President Vladimir Putin says the country has successfully test-fired a simultaneous salvo of the Zircon hypersonic missiles, describing the move as “a big event” for his nation.
“The tests were conducted successfully, immaculately,” Putin said Friday in televised remarks at a government meeting, adding that the salvo launch of the missile had been carried out overnight.
“This is a big event in the life of the country and a considerable step in strengthening Russia’s security and improving its defense capability,” he added amid growing tensions between Moscow and the US-led NATO military alliance over its bid to expand eastward closer to Russian borders, as well as the persisting Ukraine conflict.
Putin first unveiled the development of the supersonic missile during a state of the nation address back in February 2019, noting that it could strike targets at sea and on land within a range of 1,000 kilometers at a speed of Mach 9.
The latest test, however, marked the first time that Russian authorities reported a successful simultaneous launch test of multiple Zircon missiles as other world powers race to develop more advanced armaments as a perceived instrument to push their interests across the globe.
Russia, along with the US, France and China have so far been experimenting with the so-called hypersonic glide vehicles – defined as reaching speeds of at least Mach 5.
