Russia warns US not to deploy hypersonic missiles in Europe saying it would 'raise likelihood of inadvertent conflict' after Kremlin touted successful test of its own high-speed weapon
Russia is warning the United States not to deploy its new hypersonic missiles in Europe just as the Kremlin is touting a successful test of its rival high-speed weapon.
The Russian embassy in Washington, DC, posted a tweet on Monday that began with a large, red exclamation point. The tweet tagged Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby.
‘We would like to remind [Kirby] that potential deployment of any [American] hypersonic [missile] in Europe would be extremely destabilizing,’ the tweet from the Russian embassy read.
‘Their short flight time would leave Russia little to no decision time and raise likelihood of inadvertent conflict.’
Russia is warning the United States not to deploy its new hypersonic missiles in Europe just as the Kremlin is touting a successful test of its rival high-speed weapon. The Russian embassy in Washington, DC, posted a tweet on Monday that began with a large, red exclamation point. The tweet tagged Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby
Pictured: A new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is launched by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Russian navy from the White Sea, in the north of Russia on July 19, 2021
Russian President Putin (pictured) announced an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018 in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield
The tweet was posted on the same day that the Russian military reported another successful test launch of its new hypersonic cruise missile.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the Zircon missile was launched from the Admiral Groshkov frigate in the White Sea.
The ministry said the missile flew at a speed seven times the speed of sound and successfully hit a designated practice target more than 217 miles away on the coast of the Barents Sea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zircon would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 620 miles. Putin has emphasized that its deployment will significantly boost Russian military capability.
'We’re certainly aware of President Putin’s claims,' Kirby told reporters on Monday. His comments were cited by Fox News.
'And while I won’t be getting into specifics or providing any kind of an analysis on his claims, it's important to note that Russia’s new hypersonic missiles are potentially destabilizing and pose significant risks because they are nuclear-capable systems.'
The Russian navy has conducted several previous test launches of the new missile, including one on Putin's birthday in October, and officials said the tests are to be completed later this year.
Zircon is intended to arm Russian cruisers, frigates and submarines. It is one of several hypersonic missiles under development in Russia.
NATO responded to Monday's test with a statement that claimed Russia's missile development 'create a greater risk of escalation and miscalculation.'
Pictured: A map showing where the missile was fired from a roughly where it struck, over 200 miles away on the coast of the Barents Sea, north of Russia
Putin has said the Zircon missile would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles)
'Russia's new hypersonic missiles are highly destabilizing and pose significant risks to security and stability across the Euro-Atlantic area,' the statement said.
'NATO allies are committed to respond in measured way to Russia's growing array of conventional and nuclear-capable missiles,' the alliance said.
'We will not mirror what Russia does, but we will maintain credible deterrence and defense, to protect our nations.'
The Kremlin has made modernizing the country's arsenals a top priority amid the tensions with the West that followed Russia´s 2014 annexation of Ukraine´s Crimean Peninsula.
Earlier this month, the US Air Force said it had conducted its first test of the high-explosive blast-fragmentation warhead that will be fitted to the tip of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapons (ARRW) hypersonic missile.
The ‘arena test’ of the prototype warhead was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, according to The Drive.
Lockheed Martin released this photo of the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), showing hypersonic glide warhead, which it was contracted to build for the US Air Force (file photo)
In April, a B-52H aircraft, similar to the one above, was unable to complete its launch sequence and abandoned the first test of a AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (file photo)
The US military did not say when or where the test took place. It also declined to reveal the construction and capabilities of the warhead.
In April, the much-anticipated first live-fire test of the Air Force's new hypersonic missile was abandoned prior to launch.
The Air Force said a B-52H bomber which was due to test the ARRW in a flight departing from Edwards Air Force Base in California was unable to complete its launch sequence.
Brigadier General Heath Collins, the armament directorate program executive officer, described the missile failure as a 'setback' for its hypersonic ambitions.
'The test missile was not able to complete its launch sequence and was safely retained on the aircraft which returned to Edwards AFB,' he said in a statement emailed to media.
'The ARRW program has been pushing boundaries since its inception and taking calculated risks to move this important capability forward.
'While not launching was disappointing, the recent test provided invaluable information to learn from and continue ahead. This is why we test.'
In March the US Navy said it conducted its first live-fire test of the rocket motor that will propel its offensive hypersonic missile.
The first-stage solid rocket motor (SRM) was tested in Promontory, Utah.
In March of last year, the military said it conducted a successful test of the common glide body of the missile.
The ARRW hypersonic missile is expected to supposed to usher in a new era in US military capabilities.
The Air Force says it expects the missile program to be operational by the 'early 2020s'.
It has previously said that the hypersonic missile hit targets 1,000 miles away in 10 to 12 minutes, meaning it would travel at an average speed of 5,000 to 6,000 milers per hour, or between Mach 6.5 to Mach 8.
The ARRW will be used to destroy 'high-value, time-sensitive targets', Mike White, the Pentagon's top hypersonics director, told Airforce Magazine in February.
White said the new ARRW is meant to be survivable when being fired against 'heavily defended targets'.
He said the ARRW is a 'rapid prototyping project that will leverage cutting-edge technologies to deliver a conventional hypersonic weapons capability to the warfighter in the early 2020s'.
The ARRW will be the first hypersonic weapon in the American military arsenal.
In June 2019, the Air Force conducted a captive carry flight test - where the payload does not separate from the carrier aircraft - onboard a B52.
Compared to the Cruise missiles, which have a top speed of about 800kms per hour, the ARRW could be as much as 10 times higher.
The US, China and Russia are all testing prototypes of hypersonic missiles.
China has been conducting tests of its own Xingkong-2 'Waverider' hypersonic cruise missile.
Chinese state media said the Waverider would enable the new weapon to 'break through any current generation anti-missile defense system.'
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