US President Donald Trump boasted recently that the US military has "super" missiles that can travel 5-7 times faster than conventional weaponry.
In the wake of growing military challenges, Russian engineers have kicked off the creation of an ultra-long-range air-launched missile with a separable warhead that can intercept high-speed and maneuvering targets, Russian media reported early on Wednesday, citing sources in the nation's military-industrial complex.
According to the media report, Russian specialists have finalized the concept of the cutting-edge missile. The Russian Defence Ministry has reportedly ordered the development of a multi-functional long-range interception missile system for the MiG-31 fighter jet and the prospective MiG-41. The new missile is reportedly capable of intercepting projectiles traveling at hypersonic speeds.
The concept reportedly envisages that the heavy high-speed air-based munition will deliver a combat unit with several air-to-air missiles at a distance of several hundred kilometers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly announced in March 2018 that Moscow possessed hypersonic weapons. At the time, the US undersecretary of defence for research and engineering, Michael Griffin, admitted that, with regards to hypersonics, Russia and China are "observably ahead of [...] our current state of practice".