MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate that has been undergoing planned maintenance will enter service in early January, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a press conference Thursday.
"In early January, we will see the Admiral Gorshkov frigate entering service; new weapon systems are already being tested there," Putin noted.
According to the President, Russia has no intention to carry out provocations, but it will be a factor of reinforcement of the strategic forces.
"Although these weapon systems are of intermediate range, they have such speed specifications that they provide us with certain advantages in this sense," he added.
During the Defense Ministry board meeting Wednesday, Putin also said that the frigate, armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, will enter service in January 2023. In his State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly in February 2019, Putin said that the Tsirkon missile is capable of reaching speed of about Mach 9 (nine times the speed of sound), with its range exceeding 1,000 km.