(Republicaninformer.com)- Last week, a Russian warship reportedly conducted a computer-simulated hypersonic missile strike on a mock enemy ship in the Atlantic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate conducted the exercise on a mock target over 560 miles away using Zircon hypersonic missiles, according to the Russian state-owned news service Tass.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said a warship equipped with Zircon missiles would be able to inflict “pinpoint powerful strikes against any enemy targets at sea and on land,” according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Zircon missiles are reportedly able to travel at nine times the speed of sounding and have a range of 620 miles. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile can “overcome any modern and advanced air defense and missile defense systems.”
The Admiral Gorshkov was part of a Russian naval task force that was deployed in the western Atlantic since early January, Tass reported. The task force was under the command of Northern Fleet Missile Ships Division Commander, Captain 1st Rank Oleg Gladky.
According to Tass, the task force is expected to conduct joint exercises with China and South Africa off South Africa’s coast this month.
During a press briefing last Thursday, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters that the US is aware of the Goshkov’s presence in the Atlantic.
When asked if the Pentagon could confirm that hypersonic missiles were aboard the ship, Singh said she didn’t know. She told reporters that the Pentagon has not seen any “unsafe” or “unprofessional” behavior from the Goshkov, adding that there is “no need for concern.”
The US is lagging behind both Russia and China in the development of hypersonic weapons.
China reportedly launched a hypersonic glide vehicle in 2021 that circumnavigated the globe before hitting a target.
Meanwhile, in December, the US successfully test-launched a prototype of a hypersonic missile off the coast of Southern California.
