(Reuters) – Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, according to the head of Russia’s largest shipbuilder in an interview with the RIA state news agency on Monday.
“Multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will be equipped with the Zircon missile system on a regular basis,” said Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), in his statement to RIA.
“Work in this direction is already underway.”
Yasen-class submarines, also known as Project 885M, are nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a program to modernize the army and fleet.
The sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 km (560 miles) and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them.
Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia would begin mass supplies of Zircon missiles as part of the country’s efforts to enhance its nuclear forces.
The Russian multi-purpose frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which previously tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean, has already been equipped with Zircon missiles.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
Credit: The Star : News Feed
