Russia Carried Out Successful Test Launch of Zircon Hypersonic Missile on Friday, Putin Announces

Russia has carried out a successful test launch of Zircon hypersonic missile, President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday.

"Last night, more precisely in the morning, a launch of the Zircon hypersonic system was carried out. This is our newest missile, which works both at sea and at sea targets, and at ground targets. The tests were carried out successfully, flawlessly. This is a great event in the life of the country and an essential step in increasing the security of Russia, in increasing its defence capability," Putin said during a meeting of the State Council.

Zircon is the world's first hypersonic cruise missile capable of carrying out long aerodynamic flights with manoeuvring in dense layers of the atmosphere using exclusively its own propulsion power. The maximum speed of the missile reaches about nine speeds of sound. Its maximum range totals 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).

Earlier, Putin said that Russia had been developing hypersonic weapons in response to NATO actions that pose threat to the country.