The Russian Navy has successfully tested its brand-new hypersonic Zirkon missile with the aid of computer simulation during a manoeuvre in the Atlantic Ocean.
The frigate Admiral Gorshkov conducted this during a drill in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense announced on its Telegram channel.
According to commander Igor Kromal in a ministry-released video, the simulation proved successful.
The missile itself wasn’t fired at the speculated target 900 kilometres away. The footage only showed the missile hatch opening after the firing order.
The trajectory of the missile was modelled on the computer screens. The exercise was justified as a practice for the actual launch procedures.
Having a long-range and being extremely fast, the Zirkon is a maritime target missile.
According to reports, it can accelerate to a speed of over 9,000 km/h, making it very difficult for air defences to intercept.
The Zirkon might potentially be able to transport a nuclear warhead as well, and Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened the West with the other three weapons before his reelection in 2018.
The Kinzhal, the ground-launched Sarmat missile, and the Avangard cruise missile were all claimed to have been fired from airplanes.
The Zirkon was only officially used at the beginning of January.
Following Admiral Gorshkov, further Russian frigates were to have the cruise missile installed.
The declaration on Wednesday came as the West was getting ready to arm Ukraine with more sophisticated military equipment, such as German-made Leopard 2 combat tanks, to help it fight off Russia’s invasion.
