Russia is looking to add more sophisticated weaponry to its stockpiles and ordered “several dozen” Tsirkon hypersonic missiles this fall, state news outlet TASS reported on Friday.
The order is reportedly to be fulfilled by the end of 2023 and comes after the Kremlin ordered a “batch of Tsirkons” during the summer of 2021.
The report comes just days after Tehran, which has helped Russia in its war in Ukraine, announced that it had developed its own hypersonic missile, leading some to question whether Moscow had helped its Middle Eastern ally develop the one. sophisticated weaponry, although US defense officials have expressed skepticism about the authenticity of Tehran’s claims.
FILE – In this file photo taken from video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, an ICBM is launched from the ground on December 9, 2020 from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia.
(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)
IRAN CLAIMS TO HAVE BUILT HYPERSONIC BALLISTIC MISSILE
Hypersonic missiles are not only capable of traveling five times faster than the speed of sound, at a speed of 3,800 mph, but can also travel on complex trajectories, making them difficult to defend against, the International Research Institute for the Peace of Stockholm.
The Russian military has reportedly launched “multiple” hypersonic missiles in Ukraine since the war began, according to senior US defense officials, though it is unclear how many of the missiles remain in Russia’s stockpiles.
The Kremlin has suffered major setbacks in its arms supply and ability to hold its military lines in Ukraine, with Kyiv seeing one of its biggest achievements on Friday after Russian forces withdrew from the southern city of Kherson.
While Ukraine and Western allies have defended Ukraine’s advance, former DIA intelligence officer for Russian Doctrine and Strategy Rebekah Koffler warned that the withdrawal could be a trap.
Russia said it tested a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile in the Barents Sea on Saturday, May 28, 2022.
(Russian Defense Ministry)
UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY SAYS KHERSON ‘OUR’ AFTER RUSSIAN’S WITHDRAWAL
“Things are very fluid right now,” he told Fox News Digital. “Ukrainian intelligence is very capable, they have benefited from US and NATO support. They have almost certainly planned for various contingencies.”
“What cannot be ruled out is that the Russians have set a trap and are planning to carry out a false flag operation,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval exercise from the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser in the Black Sea on January 9, 2020.
(Photo by ALEXEI DRUZHININ/RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE/HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Yurii Ihnat, struck a similar ominous tone on Saturday, warning that Russia could use the G20 summit next week in Indonesia, when the leaders of the top 20 nations will meet to discuss the global economy, climate. change and future development, as a diversion to hit Ukraine.
Ihnat noted that Russia has a history of employing “provocations in those days” in reference to previous attacks the Kremlin has carried out during major events.
