Russian warship armed with advanced missiles sails into western Atlantic in strategic 'chess game'
CTV
In an unusual move, the Russian Defence Ministry broadcast that one of its newest warships, the Admiral Gorshkov, had tested the strike capabilities of a hypersonic Zircon missile in a virtual drill.
In an unusual move, the Russian Defence Ministry broadcast that one of its newest warships, the Admiral Gorshkov, had tested the strike capabilities of a hypersonic Zircon missile in a virtual drill.
On Wednesday the ship’s commander, Igor Krokhmal said in a video that the crew practiced “delivering a missile strike against an enemy surface target.”
The Zircon is a long-range weapon that purportedly can travel more than five times the speed of sound and hit targets within a range of 900 kilometres.
David Perry, President of the Global Affairs Institute, says this new weapon in the Russian arsenal is harder to defend against.
“The Russians have modernized their missiles and made them more effective. [The Zircon] can move a lot faster than previous missiles and that makes it more difficult to intercept. Some of them are maneuverable in mid-flight,” he told CTV National News.
Perry said this test could be in part “Russian signalling,” designed to attract attention.
“I expect a lot of eyeballs on it.”
