Moscow, September 16: Russia said on Sunday it had fired a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile and carried out bombing strikes with Su-34 fighter-bombers as part of joint military exercises with Belarus, a show of force that comes days after Russian drones entered Polish airspace.
The Defence Ministry said the missile was launched from the Northern Fleet’s Admiral Golovko frigate in the Barents Sea and struck its target with a “direct hit.” Footage released by the ministry showed the missile shooting skyward from the warship before streaking across the horizon.
The drills, known as “Zapad” (West), began on Sept. 12 and are designed to improve military command and coordination between Moscow and Minsk in the event of an attack on either country. Both capitals insist the exercises are defensive, though NATO has launched its own “Eastern Sentry” operation in response to the drone incursions into Poland on Sept. 9-10.
In addition to the Zircon launch, long-range anti-submarine aircraft took part in the exercise, while Su-34 fighter-bombers practiced strikes on ground targets, the ministry said.
President Vladimir Putin has described the Zircon missile as capable of flying nine times the speed of sound with a range of more than 1,000 km (600 miles). Russian media have reported that the missile, known domestically as the 3M22 Zircon and by NATO as the SS-N-33, carries a 300-400 kg warhead.
