Putin Makes it Crystal Clear: Russia’s Superweapon Systems Are Reality, And Already Deployed

— And now let's move on to our most advanced weapons. You spoke about those super-developments during your Address to the Federal Assembly. And it's noteworthy that the Western media immediately came up with a series of articles stating that the tests were still in progress and they were not always successful, as Russia tried to present it. So does our Army actually have these weapons?

Vladimir Putin:  Look, I have already said it during my Address to the Federal Assembly and will repeat it again: As early as in 2004, I said that we started developing such new systems as a response to the USA unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. And I spoke back then about the system, which we now call Avangard. It is an intercontinental missile system, not a ballistic one, which flies on a flat trajectory and changes its heading and height. It's an ultimate weapon, if we speak about today. Its speed is over Mach 20, 20 times sound velocity. I don't think that any country would develop such a weapon in the years to come. But of course, it will be developed one day. And I've already said that it doesn't bother us because we already have one.

 

Now let's talk about what we have and don't have. Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched system, which is a Mach 10 hypersonic missile, is already deployed with the Army in the Southern Federal District. I have already said that. If someone questions it, then let them have a look, we pointedly demonstrated the launches of this missile. That's first. Second, the laser weapon system. It is already deployed too. Next. I have already said and I want to repeat that The Avangard system is already being manufactured on an industrial large scale, and we plan to deploy it with the Armed Forces in 2019. In 2020 we plan to deploy with the Armed Forces our most powerful strategic missile complex, the new Sarmat heavy-duty ballistic missile. We have several developments, which I have already mentioned. These are two products with a nuclear engine, a nuclear propulsion device; a global-range missile with a small nuclear engine and an unmanned underwater vehicle. In both cases, we finished the main development stage. Namely, everything about the tests of this nuclear propulsion device. There are still things to be done on a scheduled basis. The work is going exactly according to the plan, within the scheduled procedures. I have no doubt that they will be deployed with the Army as scheduled. As for those who doubt it…

Well, they doubted the Avangard back in 2004. I have already said that it has been deployed in Syria. But that's not all that we plan to develop and deploy with the Army. Well, I said during the Address that it's too early to speak about that, but we will shortly.