″ Virtually invincible ″ Russian hypersonic missiles come into operation

Russia announced Friday the launch of its first Avangard hypersonic missiles, one of the new weapons developed by Moscow and praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “virtually invincible”.

This system is part of a new generation of missiles capable, according to Moscow, of hitting a target almost anywhere in the world and overcoming existing missile shields, such as the system developed by the United States in Europe.

“Defense Minister Serguei Choigu informed President Putin of the start of the first regiment equipped with the new Avangard Hypersonic Strategic Systems at 10 am in Moscow,” the ministry said in a statement. quoted by Russian agencies.

Choigu congratulated the Russian military, considering that the deployment of the missiles was “a fantastic event for the country and the military.”

In December 2018, the Russian army announced that the first Avangard missile regiment would be installed in the Ural Mountains region of Orenburg.

According to Moscow, the Avangard spins at a speed of Mach 20 and can reach Mach 27, 27 times the speed of sound and more than 33,000 kilometers per hour.

The missile is capable of changing direction and altitude, making it “virtually invincible,” according to the Russian President.

Vladimir Putin compared Avangard missiles, successfully tested in December 2018, with a range of 4,000 kilometers, “with the creation of the first artificial satellite on Earth,” a reference to the Sputnik launched in 1957, which symbolized the Soviet Union’s technological advance. about the United States in the middle of the Cold War.

“It’s an intercontinental missile system, not ballistic. It’s the absolute weapon,” Putin said in June 2018.

“I don’t think a single country has this weapon in the coming years. We already have it,” added the Russian head of state.

Another weapon deemed “invincible” for Putin, the fifth generation intercontinental ballistic heavy missile Sarmat, is due to be delivered to the Russian military in 2020.

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