Russia says it has conducted hypersonic missile exercises in the Atlantic Ocean

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that one of its frigates carrying hypersonic missiles had conducted “hypersonic missile exercises” in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Admiral Gorshkov frigate tested the offensive capabilities of Russia’s supersonic Zircon missile in the western Atlantic, according to a statement from the ministry, using “computer simulation” exercises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the development of hypersonic Zircon (or Tsirkon) missiles in 2019 when he said the missiles reach a maximum speed of Mach 9 (or nine times the speed of sound) and a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). ). Putin said the missiles “can hit targets at sea or on land.”

According to the training situation, the frigate trained in order [a] “The Tsirkon hypersonic missile strike a sea target at a distance of more than 900 kilometers,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in its statement about the exercises.

She did not say she fired a missile.

The ministry indicated that the Admiral Gorshkov frigate “is a modern multi-purpose ship equipped with guided missiles and designed to operate in remote sea and ocean areas.”

Equipped with Circon [missiles]The ship is capable of launching accurate and powerful strikes on sea and land targets.

Russia’s testing of its offensive capabilities in the Atlantic is likely to be seen as a provocative move by the United States and its NATO allies.

Relations between Moscow and the West are at an all-time low in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Russia accuses the West, which has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons and military aid, of waging a proxy war against it.