Military
Russia wants to equip submarines with hypersonic missiles
Russian submarines and warships at the St. Petersburg Naval Station. photo
© Dmitri Lovetsky/AP/dpa
Russia’s submarine fleet is to be upgraded with hypersonic missiles – the missiles are considered to be practically unattainable for anti-aircraft defense. An admiral reveals the Navy’s plans.
The Russian Navy wants to equip its submarines with modern hypersonic weapons. “Let no one doubt that we will do this,” said Navy Chief Nikolai Yevmenov in an interview published in the army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda. The admiral did not specify a date for the conversion of the submarine fleet to the new missiles.
According to him, there are currently around ten submarine types in service, belonging to four different generations. The modern guided missiles of the Kalibr type have been tested on second-generation submarines. “And today, all submarines in service can be equipped with it, including strategic submarine cruisers.” The next step would then be to upgrade with hypersonic missiles, according to Yevmenov.
Russia has so far introduced three types of hypersonic missiles: the Avangard, the Zirkon and the Kinzhal. Due to their high speed, these are currently considered practically unattainable for air defense. The Zirkon missiles, which can potentially also be equipped with nuclear warheads, are ship-based. So far, however, only one ship in the Russian fleet, the frigate “Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union Gorshkov”, has been equipped with it.