Moscow has announced that it has commissioned a second Avangard hypersonic missile system, a weapon that the Kremlin presents as “invincible” and “absolute”.
Russia announced on Saturday December 17 the entry into service of a new Avangard hypersonic missile system, “in the Orenburg region, in the southern Urals“, specified the Ministry of Defense relayed by the Russian press agency Mug.
According to the Ministry of Defense press release, this missile system, “equipped with a hypersonic unit, will effectively supplement the weapons system of the strategic missile forces and strengthen the combat capabilities of the land component of the strategic nuclear forces“.
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This commissioning required the installation of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which makes it possible to launch the hypersonic glider. This system is part of a new generation of missiles capable, according to Moscow, of reaching a target almost anywhere in the world and of surpassing any existing anti-missile shield, such as the system deployed by the United States in Europe. The strength of these hyperspeed systems lies in their low altitude flight, terminal speed and maneuverability, which make them difficult to intercept.
Mach 27
The Avangard spins according to Moscow at a speed of Mach 20 and is capable of reaching Mach 27, or 27 times the speed of sound and more than 33,000 kilometers per hour. During a successful test in December 2018, Vladimir Putin described this missile as “absolute weapon” and “practically invincible“. Russia first deployed the Avangard in December 2019.
In the hypervelocity arms race, that is to say higher than five times the speed of sound, and up to Mach 20 for some, Russia claims a head start with several systems tested: Avanguard in 2014, Kinzhal in 2018, Zircon in 2020. These can be hypersonic gliders or hypersonic cruise missiles, as in the case of the Kinzhal carried by an aircraft. Controlling them requires a high level of expertise, given the physical constraints weighing on these machines.
At the end of March 2022, just under a month after the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia had announced that it had used hypersonic missiles to destroy an underground weapons warehouse in western Ukraine, a first in a theater of war.