Russia continues to develop in its arsenal of armed forces various ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as hypersonic missile systems, such as the already available Avangard.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Yuri Borisov, the Avangard is the pinnacle of military hypersonic missile construction in the world and will one day be intercepted, but not now, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.
The idea of a “future interception” of the Avangard hypersonic missile system is a slight departure from the previous position of the Russian administration, which often used the word “impossible” in one sentence with Avangard. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the inviolability of the missile system can only be violated by the United States if they can develop modern technology for its interception, but most of all – destruction.
Borissov confirmed one of the main and dangerous characteristics of the Avangard system, namely the ability of the missile to determine its own flight path by successfully bypassing certain air layers protected by enemy air defense systems, which makes it truly maneuverable and invulnerable at the moment.
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, one day the Avangard missile will be successfully intercepted through the use of a laser or electromagnetic weapon, but this is currently just a development of a drawing and in the foreseeable future [up to 10 years] will not happen.
“Perhaps in the end, the Americans will find a cure for these supersonic devices, mainly through weapons using laser technology, electromagnetic pulses, but today it is still impossible,” the Russian deputy prime minister told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
In general, this only means that there are currently radars that can detect the Avangard missile, but the integrated anti-missile systems are incapable of interception, which is a clear signal that such a technological problem will have to be solved in time by competitors of Russia.
However, many military experts and analysts say that Moscow will have to change its mindset in one way or another when developing and using such systems, as it may have to replace one of the available warheads at some point in the future. the Avangard hypersonic missile with an electronic warfare device to suppress the signal of enemy radars and anti-missile systems.
All this, according to experts, will reduce the power of the missile, which could radically change its original characteristics, including striking power and range.
Russia successfully tested the hypersonic missile “Avangard”
During Christmas and New Year holidays back in 2019, Russia has conducted successful tests of the latest “Avangard” missile system that can carry nuclear and conventional warheads.
The tests were personally observed by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, from the building of the Defence Ministry in Moscow, and the Kremlin administration described the test as “the missile was launched from a location in south-west Russia and successfully hit and destroyed a target in the Russian Far East.”
“This test, which has just finished, ended with complete success,” Putin commented during a government meeting. We recall that in the middle of 2019, the U.S. television channel CNBC, citing U.S. intelligence sources, said Russia could not start production of the hypersonic weapon because Kremlin had failed to obtain critical components, including carbon fiber component, without which the missile could not function.
According to the U.S. intelligence, the body of the hypersonic glide vehicle cannot withstand the heat, wherefore the internal systems would be damaged.
“In 2019 and 2020, Russia’s armed forces will get the new intercontinental strategic system Avangard … It’s a big moment in the life of the armed forces and in the life of the country. Russia has obtained a new type of strategic weapon” President Putin adds in his comment made at the government meeting.
The new missile system, one of the several new weapons announced in 2019 by Putin, is highly maneuverable, which allows it easily to evade missile defense systems.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Borisov, told the Russian state television, quoted by AP, that Russia’s new strategic weapon has rendered any missile defences useless as it flies 27 times faster than the sound speed, making it impossible for interception.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has released a video from the launch during the tests of the system. Kremlin’s announcement makes it clear that the missile has successfully reached and hit a target at a distance of 6,000 kilometers.