Putin: new hypersonic nuclear missile makes an excellent New Year’s gift for Russia
The Russian Defense Ministry conducted test launches of an Avangard hypersonic glider missile.
The missile, the fruit of a 20 trillion ruble ($290 billion) state arms program, passed the testing “completely successfully”, Putin said after the Strategic Missile Troops drill at the Kura Test Range.
“All the tactical and technical data has been confirmed,” Interfax cites the Russian president as saying. “The Avangard system is invulnerable to the current and future anti-air and anti-missile defense systems of a potential enemy.”
The intercontinental missile, which can carry a nuclear or a regular payload, was unveiled in March 2018, during Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly. It is scheduled to become part of Russia’s armament as early as 2019.
“This is a great success and a great victory. It is a wonderful, excellent gift for the country for New Year,” Putin remarked.
The production of the latest weapons systems will continue next year, he promised.
“Then we will talk again to the general engineer and we will talk to other colleagues: we will take additional measures to guarantee results with certainty on all parallel topics that the General Staff and Defense Ministry consider promising for equipping the army and the fleet with the latest weapons systems, including hypersonic weapons,” Putin said.
Enhancing the combat potential of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces is the Defense Ministry’s primary task for the coming year, Putin said on December 18.
The Russian president claims that the latest weapons will protect the country from aggression and ensure not only safety for Russia, but also stability for the entire world.