Russia’s rocket forces have reportedly loaded an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with the nuclear-capable “Avangard” hypersonic glide vehicle into a launch silo in southern Russia. This information was broadcast on a defense ministry TV channel on Thursday.
The Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, announced by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, is designed as a response to the development of a new generation of weapons by the U.S. and the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. The Avangard is capable of detaching from the rocket and maneuvering sharply at hypersonic speeds, reaching up to 27 times the speed of sound as it approaches its target.
The footage from the ‘Zvezda’ television channel, owned by the Russian defense ministry, showed a ballistic missile being transported to a launch silo, raised into a vertical position, and then lowered into a shaft in the Orenburg region near Kazakhstan. Russia had previously installed its first Avangard-equipped missile at the same Orenburg facility in 2019.
Both Russia and the United States, as the largest nuclear powers, have expressed concerns about the erosion of arms-control treaties that were designed to curb the arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear conflict. Despite these concerns, both nations, along with China, are actively developing new weapons systems, including hypersonic capabilities.
The geopolitical landscape is evolving with the U.S. viewing China as its primary competitor and Russia as a significant nation-state threat. Meanwhile, Russian authorities argue that the post-Cold War dominance of the United States is diminishing, accusing Washington of sowing chaos globally and neglecting the interests of other powers.
