In an interview with Fox News, Mike Pompeo, head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has pledged that the United States will find a way to protect itself from the sophisticated Russian weaponry touted by President Vladimir Putin during his annual address to his nation's legislature earlier this month.
Pompeo pointed out that "there was literally nothing that he [Putin] said in a speech that surprised the intelligence community or the CIA."
"We are following and tracking all of this very closely, as are our brothers at the Department of Defense, and Americans should rest assured that we have a very good understanding of the Russian programs and how to make sure that Americans continue to be kept safe from threats from Vladimir Putin," Pompeo said.
When asked whether Russia's nukes would "overwhelm US defenses" and "change the game," Pompeo made it plain that the Washington would retaliate against all this.
"Each time there's an advance in anyone's weapon systems, Russia's weapon systems, Chinese weapon systems, America is required to make sure that we have defenses that respond to them," he added.
Pompeo also cited the country's national security team, which he said is "fully engaged in making sure that we're prepared to protect America from those threats, from whatever regime that presents them."
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In particular, Putin said that Russia had created and launched mass production of the hypersonic missile Avangard, capable of carrying out intercontinental flights at a speed of Mach 20 or higher.
The Russian President also touted the heavy intercontinental missile Sarmat, a state-of-art Russian ICBM which he said can be equipped with hypersonic nuclear warheads.
