Russia deploys its nuclear-capable Avangard hypersonic missiles


By MYBRANDBOOK


Russia deploys its nuclear-capable Avangard hypersonic missiles

Russia's defence ministry has said that the county’s first regiment of Avangard hypersonic missiles has been put into service.

 

Although the exact location was not given, officials had earlier stated they would be deployed in the Urals. The nuclear-capable missiles are said to travel more than 20 times the speed of sound and put Russia ahead of other nations. They also have a "glide system" that affords great manoeuvrability and could make them impossible to defend against. Mounted on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Avangard can carry a nuclear weapon of up to two megatons.

 

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed the "Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered service at 10:00 Moscow time on 27 December", calling it a "landmark event".

 

President Vladimir Putin said that the Avangard system could penetrate current and future missile defence systems, adding: "Not a single country possesses hypersonic weapons, let alone continental-range hypersonic weapons."

 

The president unveiled the Avangard and other weapons systems in his annual state-of-the-nation address in March 2018, likening it to a "meteorite" and a "fireball".

 

In December 2018, the weapon hit a practice target 6,000km (3,700 miles) away in a test launch at  Dombarovskiy   missile base in the southern Ural Mountains.

 

After the test, Putin said that "The Avangard is invulnerable to intercept by any existing and prospective missile defence means of the potential adversary”.

 

Russia's defence ministry has released video of the Avangard system, but weapons experts have expressed scepticism about its effectiveness.

 

In a statement, the Pentagon said it. However, US Pentagon, while citing that it would "not characterize the Russian claims about the Avangard's capabilities”,  says that it has its own hypersonic missile programme, as does China, which in 2014 said it had conducted a test flight of such as weapon.

 

On 26 November Russia allowed US experts to inspect the Avangard under the rules of the 2010 New START treaty, an agreement that seeks to reduce the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers. The New START accord, which expires in February 2021, is the last major nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the US.

 

 E-Magazine 
 VIDEOS  Placeholder image

Copyright www.mybrandbook.co.in @1999-2024 - All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Kalinga Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. is prohibited.
Other Initiatives : www.varindia.com | www.spoindia.org