Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a frigate armed with the country’s latest Zircon hypersonic missile on a transoceanic cruise ship on Wednesday in a show of force as tensions with the West rise over the war in Ukraine.
Russia touts that the Zircon missile can evade any Western air defense by flying at a staggering 7,000 miles per hour (11,265 km/h).
Here’s a look at the ship and its weapons.
THE PRIDE OF THE RUSSIAN NAVY
Commissioned by the navy in 2018 after lengthy trials, the Admiral Gorshkov is the first ship in the new series of frigates that were designed to replace the aging Soviet-built destroyers as a key strike component of the Russian navy.
Armed with an array of missiles, the ship is 130 meters (427 feet) long and has a crew of around 200.
In 2019, he circumnavigated the world’s oceans on a voyage of 35,000 nautical miles.
INTENSIVE TESTING
The Admiral Gorshkov has served as the primary test bed for the latest Russian hypersonic missile, Zircon.
In recent years, the Zircon has undergone a number of tests, including being launched at various practice targets. The military declared the tests successful and Zircon officially entered service last fall.
Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines and could be used against enemy ships and ground targets. It is one of several hypersonic missiles that Russia has developed.
THE NEW WEAPON
Putin has hailed Zircon as a powerful weapon capable of penetrating any existing missile defense by flying nine times faster than the speed of sound over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers (more than 620 miles).
Putin has stressed that Zircon gives the Russian military a long-range conventional strike capability, allowing it to hit any enemy target with precision.
Russia’s hypersonic weapons push came as the US has been working on its own conventional Rapid Global Strike capability that envisions hitting an adversary’s strategic targets with precision-guided conventional weapons anywhere in the world within an hour.
Putin heralded Zircon as Russia’s answer to that, stating that the new weapon is unrivaled, giving Russia a strategic advantage.
Months before ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin warned the US and its NATO allies when he warned that Zircon-armed Russian warships would give Russia the ability to attack “decision-making centers” of the adversary in minutes if deployed in neutral waters.
Speaking via video link during Wednesday’s farewell ceremony, Putin again hailed Zircon as a “unique weapon” with no “equivalent in any country in the world.”
In response, the Pentagon said it is monitoring the ship and did not believe it posed a threat that could not be countered.
“We are aware of reports of the Russian launch of a frigate, the Admiral Grorshkov. We will continue to monitor its activities on a routine basis while maintaining awareness of our operating environment,” said Col. Roger Cabiness, a Pentagon spokesman. “While we do not comment on specific capabilities or speculate on assumptions, the Department of Defense remains confident in our ability to deter our adversaries and defend the national security interests of the United States anytime, anywhere.”
OTHER RUSSIAN HYPERSONIC WEAPONS
Russia has already ordered Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles for some of its land-based ICBMs that make up part of Russia’s strategic nuclear triad. Putin has praised the Avangard’s ability to maneuver at hypersonic speeds on its approach to the target, dodging air defenses.
The Russian military also deployed the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on its MiG-31 aircraft and used it during the war in Ukraine to hit some priority targets. Kinzhal reportedly has a range of about 1,500 kilometers (about 930 miles).
PATROL DUTY
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu informed Putin on Wednesday that Admiral Gorshkov will patrol the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean, but gave no further details.
Shoigu said that the crew of Admiral Gorshkov will focus on “countering threats to Russia, maintaining regional peace and stability together with friendly countries.” He added that the crew will practice with hypersonic weapons and long-range cruise missiles “under various conditions.”
Some military experts say that a single warship armed with hypersonic missiles is no match for the massive naval forces of the US and its allies.
But others pointed out that the possible deployment of the frigate near the US coasts could be part of Putin’s strategy to up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict.
“This is a message to the West that Russia has missiles with nuclear warheads that can easily pierce any missile defense,” pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov wrote in a comment.
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Associated Press writer Tara Copp contributed to this report from Washington.