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Russia test fires hypersonic Tsirkon missile from nuclear submarine for first time
- Launch from submarine took place at night, video showed
- Russia test fired the Tsirkon missile from a warship in July
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Russia said on Monday it had successfully test launched a Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile from a submarine for the first time, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has lauded as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.
The defence ministry said that the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine had fired the missile in the Barents Sea, successfully hitting its chosen target.
The launch took place at night, video footage released by the ministry showed.
Russia test fired the Tsirkon missile from a warship in July.
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Putin announced an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018 in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.
Russia is generally seen as the world leader in the technology so far. It already has Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles and the air-launched Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles in its arsenal.
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Russian officials say the Avangard has reached a staggering 33,000km/h during tests.
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