Russia on Tuesday claimed it had successfully test launched a new hypersonic interceptor missile system with a precision unmatched by any other country.
The reported launch took place at Sary-Shagan, an anti-ballistic missile testing range in Kazakhstan, according to a tweet from the ministry. The tweet included a video of the test launch which showed missiles shot from the ground at high speeds, leaving behind trails of smoke.
Russia-24, a state-owned news channel, reported that the new missile will be used to protect Russia’s borders from incoming aerospace weaponry.
At the Sary-Shagan test site (Republic of Kazakhstan), the air and missile defence forces of the Aerospace Forces successfully conducted a new test launch of a modernized missile of the Russian ABM system. #MoD #Aerospace_Forces #Missile_Defence #Kazakhstan #SaryShagan pic.twitter.com/mFle4QLyc4
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) June 4, 2019
The new interceptor missile, launched by Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces, successfully completed its tasks by striking an assigned target “with precision,” the report said.
Military experts, cited by the channel, said no other countries have matched the ABM’s capabilities. TASS, another state-run news agency, reported that the last trials took place on Dec. 1, 2018.
Hypersonic missiles can be launched from land, sea, or air, and can fly more than nine times the speed of sound. The U.S. once led in the development of hypersonic missile technology but has lagged for the last 60 years, according to Iain Boyd, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan.
Citing hypersonic advancements by China and Russia, the State Department announced last year that hypersonic capabilities are the “highest technical priority,” according to Defense News.
