Russia announced on Sunday that it launched a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile at a target in the Barents Sea during military exercises with Belarus.
The exercise, called “Zapad,” started on September 12 and aims to improve military coordination in case of an attack on either country. Russia and Belarus claim the drills are defensive and do not intend to target NATO members. However, the U. S. announced an “Eastern Sentry” operation following Russian drone incursions into Poland.
The Russian defense ministry released videos showing the missile launch from the Admiral Golovko frigate and confirmed that the missile hit its target. Additionally, Su-34 fighter-bombers practiced ground strikes. The Zircon missile can travel at nine times the speed of sound and has a range of 400 km to 1,000 km, with a warhead weight of about 300 kg-400 kg.
With information from Reuters
