Russian air defenses can counter ‘even hypersonic missiles'

Russia’s air defense system will have the capability to intercept any type of missiles, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday.

“The integration of [aerospace defense] systems will make it possible to intercept any targets at any speed, including hypersonic ones,” he said.

The new system should be up and running by December 1, he said, adding that it will comprise “air defense, missile defense, missile early warning attack and space control systems.”

Serdyukov’s remarks come shortly after the U.S. Army conducted the first flight test of a new weapon concept designed to fly within the earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speed and long range.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command launched the Advance Hypersonic Weapon (AHW), “a first-of-its-kind glide vehicle,” on November 16 from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.

The DoD said it is using AHW to develop and demonstrate technologies for Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS).

Ria Novosti