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PUTIN'S ANNUAL PRESS CONFERENCE

Putin says Russian hypersonic weapons’ existence impacts global situation

Russia is developing the most advanced weapons, including the Avangard hypersonic missile system and the Tsirkon long-range hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, the president said

Avangard hypersonic missile system Russian Defense Ministry/TASS

Avangard hypersonic missile system

© Russian Defense Ministry/TASS

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Russian Navy frigate test-fires Tsirkon hypersonic missile from White Sea

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The existence of Russia’s hypersonic missile systems influences the situation in the world and changes it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual press conference on Thursday.

Russia is developing the most advanced weapons, including the Avangard hypersonic missile system whose speed exceeds Mach 20 and the Tsirkon long-range hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile flying at over eight times the speed of sound, Putin said.

"Moreover, it [the Tsirkon missile] can be placed both on stationary carriers and on surface and subsurface ships. Where can it be placed? In neutral waters. So, you can calculate the range and the speed and everything will become clear. Does this change and influence the situation somehow? Of course, it changes and influences it," the Russian president said.

Putin said that the work on the Tsirkon hypersonic missile had been largely completed.

The Avangard boost-glide vehicle is capable of flying at a hypersonic speed of up to Mach 27 (about 32,000 km/h) in the dense layers of the atmosphere, maneuvering by its flight path and its altitude and breaching any anti-missile defense. The first missile regiment armed with Avangard hypersonic weapons assumed combat duty in the Yasny missile division in the Orenburg Region in late 2019.

In his State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly in February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Tsirkon was capable of developing a speed of about Mach 9 and its striking range capability could exceed 1,000 km. The Russian leader also said that the Tsirkon could strike both naval and ground targets.

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