President Vladimir Putin
said on Wednesday that Russia would deploy its first regiment of hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles next year, saying the move meant his country now had a new type of strategic weapon .
Putin was speaking after overseeing what the Kremlin said was a pre-deployment test of the new missile system , called Avangard .
“This test, which has just finished, ended with complete success ,” Putin told a government meeting.
“From next year, 2019, Russia’s armed forces will get the new intercontinental strategic system Avangard ... It’s a big moment in the life of the armed forces and in the life of the country. Russia has obtained a new type of strategic weapon.”
Russia has said the new missile system , one of several new weapons Putin announced in March, is highly maneuverable , allowing it to easily evade missile defense systems .
Putin remotely observed Wednesday’s test from a Russian defense ministry building in Moscow . The Kremlin described the test in a statement, saying that an Avangard missile , launched from a location in south-west Russia, had successfully hit and destroyed a target in the Russian Far East .
Putin announced an array of new weapons in March, including the Avangard , in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield .
sg