According to TASS, a Russian frigate outfitted with Zircon hypersonic missiles will take part in joint exercises in South Africa in February.
The state-owned Russian news agency TASS says that in February, a ship with hypersonic cruise missiles will take part in exercises with the navies of China and South Africa.
The participation of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union was first mentioned in an official report on Monday.
The frigate is equipped with Zircon missiles, which have a range of more than 1,000 kilometres and can travel at nine times the speed of sound (620 miles).
The missiles and the Avangard glide vehicle, which entered combat service in 2019, are the centrepiece of Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.
According to TASS’s report, which cited an unnamed defence source, “Admiral Gorshkov”… will go to the logistical support point in Syria’s Tartus and then take part in combined naval drills with the Chinese and South African militaries.
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The drills, according to the South African National Defense Force, will take place close to the port cities of Durban and Richards Bay on South Africa’s east coast from February 17 to 26.
The combined exercise, according to a statement on Thursday, intends to “strengthen the already burgeoning connections between South Africa, Russia, and China.”
After a drill in 2019, this exercise in South Africa will be the second to involve the three nations, the defence force noted.
After President Vladimir Putin deployed the Gorshkov to the Atlantic Ocean to send a message to the West that Russia would not back down over the conflict in Ukraine, the Gorshkov conducted training in the Norwegian Sea earlier this month.
In the past, Putin has claimed that the frigate and its Zircon missiles are unique in the entire globe.
The Russian president views the weapons as a chance to get past the more advanced missile defences used by the United States.
Due to their speed and manoeuvrability, which make them difficult to detect, hypersonic weapons are being developed by Russia, the US, and China in a race to acquire an advantage over any foe.
Al Jazeera and Reuters
