Russians prepare for combat hypersonic 20,000 mph Avangard ‘meteorite’ missile
Russia Revealed chilling new footage of its “meteorite” hypersonic missile Avangard being readied for combat in what can be perceived as another nuclear threat to the West. Footage shows the weapon – which is delivered to targets at 27 times the speed of sound – being installed in an underground launch silo in the Orenburg region. The missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle is fired outside the earth’s atmosphere before striking any target in the world in less than 30 minutes, claims Moscow. Today’s emplacement of the 20,000mph Avangard weaponry follows three consecutive days in which Putin has showcased the deployment of new Yars nuclear missiles in the Kaluga and Tver regions.
“Today, one more regiment equipped with the Avangard missile system has been put on combat readiness in the Yasnenskoye missile formation. This is a real gift for the founding of the Strategic Missile Force.”, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement on December 17.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Avangard missile will enhance the combat capabilities of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces.
Earlier, the Russian military in November released a video, that it described as recording the process of the Avangard rocket being loaded into the launch pad.
According to the Russian side, this is a relatively complicated process that requires many skills. Russia needs up to 40 people to carry out this mission.
The Avangard is essentially a hypersonic glider mounted on a rocket capable of propulsion.
Russian media say that the Avangard seems to have been under development since the mid-1980s and the first test was carried out in 2004. All information about the missile was kept secret until Russia revealed its existence.
Unconfirmed information says that the missile’s nuclear device can deliver a yield equivalent to 2 megatons, far more powerful than conventional modern nuclear warheads.
The presence of Avangard is considered to be a “game changer” because of the unstoppable power of this weapon.
Russia started service with Avangard in 2019. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said that the actual speed of the Avangard missile is beyond imagination when it reaches 32,000km/h, equivalent to Mach 27. That means Russian missiles can fly 27 times faster than the speed of sound.
Avangard has the ability to glide through the atmosphere and accelerate to full speed during reentry. It is capable of performing maneuvers to avoid being detected by enemy air defenses.
Avangard is 5.4m long and weighs about 2 tons. Avangard can be integrated into a variety of rocket boosters, for example, the RS-28 Sarmat – Russia’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). RS-28 Sarmat can carry a payload of about 10 tons, 5 Avangard surfers.
Russia is currently one of the leaders in the race to develop hypersonic weapons, which can fly at least five times the speed of sound and with unpredictable trajectories. This is considered a “game changer” weapon in modern warfare. The US, the world’s leading military power, has repeatedly admitted to being behind Russia in the race to develop hypersonic weapons.
In March, Russia became the first country the world in to use hypersonic missiles in hostilities when it fired Kinzhal missiles at Ukrainian military facilities. The fact that Russia continues to upgrade its hypersonic weapons program in the past time has worried the US and the West.
