Trials of the state-of-the-art Zircon sea-launched hypersonic cruise missile are currently being completed, and the projectiles will be deployed to the Russian Navy later this year, a deputy defense minister revealed on Thursday.
The Zircon has made significant headlines worldwide for its capabilities, and last year it was named by US Navy Admiral Charles A. Richard as a threat to America.
“Because of these challenges, our current terrestrial- and space-based sensor architecture may not be sufficient to detect and track these hypersonic missiles,” he said.
With testing now nearing an end, the high-speed guided projectile is due to be deployed in the near future.