Putin announces hypersonic weapons for the Russian Navy

DPA, 26TH JULY, 2020 -  President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russian warships will be equipped with the latest hypersonic weapons.

At the main naval parade in St Petersburg on Sunday - Russian Navy Day - Putin spoke of “unique advantages [that] will be achieved due to the broad introduction of advanced digital technologies, the world’s unparalleled hypersonic strike systems, unmanned underwater vehicles,” as quoted by TASS news agency.

Putin further described the improvements as “the most effective self-defence.”

According to the Interfax news agency, the Ministry of Defence also announced successful tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile built for the navy.

The futuristic hypersonic weapons travel at a multiple of the speed of sound, 343 metres per second.

Construction will also continue on the underwater nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedo, the ministry said, adding that the planned sea drone is intended to destroy coastal targets.

Putin, who also rode in a military boat himself, said that this year alone 40 new ships of different classes would be put into service with the individual fleets of the largest country in the world.

Russia has a larger coastal area than any other country in the world. The Navy has been protecting Russia reliably for 300 years, Putin said to mark Navy Day nationwide.

The naval forces also celebrated Navy Day with parades in many other Russian coastal towns.

In Syria, where Russia is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad, the military demonstrated its strength with a gun show in the Mediterranean port of Tartus.

A video released by the Ministry of Defence showed not only warships taking part, including a submarine, but also combat helicopters and jets.