Russia says it's completed testing of hypersonic Zircon cruise missile

Russia has completed testing of its hypersonic Zircon cruise missile and will deploy it before the end of the year on a new frigate of its Northern Fleet, a senior military official said on Wednesday.

Russia has completed testing of its hypersonic Zircon cruise missile and will deploy it before the end of the year on a new frigate of its Northern Fleet, a senior military official said on Wednesday. Alexander Moiseyev, commander of the Northern Fleet, said the Admiral Golovko frigate would become the first to be armed full-time with the Zircon, TASS news agency reported.

President Vladimir Putin has described the Zircon as part of a new generation of unrivaled arms systems, traveling at nine times the speed of sound. Russia has suffered heavy losses during its three-month war in Ukraine but has continued to stage high-profile tests of its newest missiles.

The defense ministry said last week it had successfully test-fired a Zircon cruise missile from a vessel in the Barents Sea to a target some 1,000 km (625 miles) away in the White Sea.