Russia touted Thursday a new hypersonic missile said to hit speeds of more than 30,000 kilometres per hour, amid heightened tension with the US over arms control.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday tracked final tests of a hypersonic missile dubbed "Avangard," which he says would defeat all existing missile defence systems.

When Putin unveiled the new weapon during his state of the nation address in March, he said the missile was highly manoeuvrable and flew at 20 times the speed of sound.

Senior officials now say the intercontinental projectile is considerably faster.

"During tests, Avangard reached the speed of Mach 27," or roughly 33,000 kilometres (20,500 miles) per hour, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in televised remarks.

Mach 1 is a unit of measurement equivalent to the speed of sound.

"At this speed not a single intercepter missile can shoot it down," Borisov said.

He also claimed it was impossible to predict the missile's movements, which meant "missile defence is practically rendered obsolete."

Putin termed the final test an "absolute success," and said Avangard would be deployed next year.

The Bell, an independent media outlet, said Putin was so excited about Wednesday's tests that he told Russian businessmen about them later in the day and said that no one could threaten Russia now because it has such advanced weapons.

Last week Putin laid out plans for Moscow to develop mid-range missiles banned under a Cold War treaty with the United States if Washington abandons the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF).

The bilateral agreement forbids ground-launched short- and intermediate-range missiles, but not those launched from the air or sea.

Putin said that seaborne Kalibr and air-launched Kh-101 cruise missiles -- and another hypersonic missile dubbed Kinzhal (Dagger) -- would be adapted for ground launch if Washington ditched the INF treaty.

Russia and the US have accused each other of violating the agreement.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

New Materials Architectures Sought to Cool Hypersonic Vehicles
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 21, 2018
Hypersonic vehicles fly through the atmosphere at incredibly high speeds, creating intense friction with the surrounding air as they travel at Mach 5 or above - five times faster than sound travels. Developing structures that can withstand furnace-like temperatures at such high speeds is a technical challenge, especially for leading edges that bear the brunt of the heat. To address this thermal challenge, DARPA recently announced its Materials Architectures and Characterization for Hypersonics (MA ... read more