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Keel-laying for eight new Russian ships due in 2020

The Defense Ministry is currently working on reducing construction time of new vessels and equipping them with precision weapons, namely Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, its head revealed

Showpieces at an exhibition of modern armament and machinery ahead of a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board to sum up the results of the Armed Forces’ activity in 2019 and outline objectives for 2020, at the National Defense Control Center Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS

Showpieces at an exhibition of modern armament and machinery ahead of a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry Board to sum up the results of the Armed Forces’ activity in 2019 and outline objectives for 2020, at the National Defense Control Center

© Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS

MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. Keel-laying for eight new ships for the Russian Navy will take place in 2020, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed on Tuesday during the annual board meeting of the ministry involving Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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"This year, keel-laying ceremonies for five ships have been held, next year, there will be eight more," Shoigu said.

According to him, the ministry is currently working on reducing construction time of new vessels and equipping them with precision weapons, namely Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.

Tsirkon hypersonic missile

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Putin: Russia developing land-based version of Tsirkon hypersonic missile

In his State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on February 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the work on the Tsirkon hypersonic missile was proceeding as scheduled. As the Russian leader reported, the Tsirkon is capable of developing a speed of Mach 9 and its striking range capability can exceed 1,000 km. The Russian leader added that the Tsirkon could hit both naval and ground targets. Experts say the Tsirkon hypersonic missile cannot be intercepted by any existing air defense systems.

A source in the defense industry told TASS in late 2018 that more than ten Tsirkon launches had been carried out against naval targets to ranges of several hundred kilometers since the start of the missile’s trials. According to media reports, the missile firings from a sea platform were conducted in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Russian warships and submarines currently armed with Kalibr or Oniks cruise missiles are expected to carry Tsirkon hypersonic weapons. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said on November 8 there were plans to deploy Tsirkon missiles on the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov currently undergoing modernization and on the Project 949A multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Irkutsk. Before that, Russian President Putin informed that the corvette Gremyashchiy might be armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.

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