He farewelled the frigate Admiral Gorshkov on Thursday as it departed for the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. It’s carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles – weapons capable of flying at about nine times the speed of sound (11,000km/h) to strike targets up to 1000km away. Kinzhal hypersonic missiles carrying conventional explosive warheads have been used – with minimal effect – against Ukrainian infrastructure. A recent Congressional Research Service report conceded that the US is behind in the race to develop hypersonic missiles. It is fitted with 16 multipurpose vertical-launch cells that can carry Zircon hypersonic missiles along with Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 09, 2023 06:01 UTC