Russian frigate tests hypersonic missiles with nearly 600-mile strike capacity

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that its frigate Admiral Gorshkov has successfully tested Zircon anti-ship hypersonic missiles that have a range of over 560 miles, i24NEWS reports. Much harder to track and intercept than traditional projectiles, hypersonic missiles can travel more than five times the speed of sound and maneuver in mid-flight.

In a statement about the hypersonic missiles test, the Russian Defense Ministry said: “The crew of the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, operating in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, conducted an exercise on the use of hypersonic missile weapons using computer simulation.

“[The frigate [practiced] launching a missile strike with a Zircon hypersonic missile at a sea target simulating an enemy ship and located at a distance of more than 900 km (559 miles),” the statement added.

Part of the Russian navy since 2018, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate will be taking part in joint naval exercises with China and South Africa in February, Moscow said in a statement Monday.

Announcing in July last year that Russia’s navy would shortly be receiving the Zircon hypersonic missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that his fleet is “capable of inflicting a lightning response to all those who decide to undermine our sovereignty and freedom,” i24NEWS reported.

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