Russia is poised to add a new hypersonic nuclear warhead to its arsenal
2018-12-27 16:05:47 source：The Washington Post
December 26, 2018
MOSCOW — Russia on Wednesday conducted a final test of a nuclear-capable glider that flies at 20 times the speed of sound, President Vladimir Putin said, adding that the weapon will be included in the country’s arsenal next year.
Putin described the successful test, in which the glider was launched from a site in southwestern Russia toward a target on the Kamchatka Peninsula more than 3,500 miles away, as a “wonderful, perfect New Year’s gift for the country.” The fanfare surrounding the test — it led the TV news, and state media reported that Putin gave the launch order — underscores how central nuclear saber-rattling has become to the Kremlin’s effort to depict Russia as a global superpower for audiences at home and abroad.
The new weapon, dubbed the Avangard, is of a type that the Pentagon has been both working on and worrying about as an arms race emerges among the United States, Russia and China for missiles that can maneuver easily and travel far faster than the speed of sound. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the test.
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