The Avangard hypersonic system is equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles
Russia is deploying another deadly weapon system – the hypersonic Avangard. The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday shared footage of the deployment of a regiment of Avangard missiles, a hypersonic system with nuclear capabilities, ready for battle. The regiment was stationed in the Orenburg region in the southern Ural mountains, reports “Newsweek”, writes epicenter.bg.
It is equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles, which took several hours to install, the statement said.
“Another Avangard missile regiment went on combat duty in the Orenburg region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Avangard was one of several ultra-modern weapons systems that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in March 2018.
Russian officials said the weapon could fly at 27 times the speed of sound and was impossible to intercept.
In a 2018 speech introducing Vanguard, Putin described the system as “invincible” and likened it to a “meteorite” and a “fireball.”
He said it was capable of sharp maneuvers on its way to the target, meaning it was “absolutely invulnerable to any air and missile defense weapons”.
Putin again hailed the capabilities of the combat complex after a test launch from the Dombarovsky missile base in December of the same year.
“Avangard” is invulnerable to interception by any existing and prospective anti-missile defenses of the potential adversary,” the Russian leader said, adding that this would ensure Russia’s security for the foreseeable future.
At the same time, former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov said that
Russia has 12 newly produced Avangard systems,
which are developed at relatively low cost.
The Vanguard weighs about 2,000 kg, has a range of more than 6,000 km and is capable of carrying a nuclear or conventional payload, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Defense Project.
Vanguard is carried to its apogee by a ballistic missile. Once accelerated to its suborbital apogee of about 100 km, the warhead separates from its rocket and descends to its target through the atmosphere.
The first Avangard missile system entered service at the end of 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced.
“Avangard is one of two systems developed by Russia that are ‘capable of flying trajectories over the South Pole to approach the continental United States from the south,'” according to a report by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration intelligence from 2020
The Vanguard “is designed to penetrate the US missile defense system and strike critical targets with a nuclear warhead.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense for comment.
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