<p>Russia on Wednesday said it had successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in a move hailed by President Vladimir Putin as a "great event" for the country.</p>.<p>The military said that the Tsirkon missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea on Tuesday morning in the Russian Arctic and successfully hit its target.</p>.<p>Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told Putin -- who turned 68 on Wednesday -- that it was the first time the missile had successfully struck a target at sea.</p>.<p>"The tasks of the launch were carried out. The test-fire was successful," he told Putin.</p>.<p>Gerasimov said that the missile hit its target 450 kilometres away in the Barents Sea and hit a Mach 8 speed -- eight times the speed of sound.</p>.<p>Russia has in the last years touted the development of futuristic new weapons which it hopes will give it the edge in any arms race with the United States at a time of growing tensions with the West.</p>.<p>Putin said that the test-firing of Tsirkon was a "great event not just in the life of our armed forces but for all of Russia".</p>.<p>He said that such weapons, which Putin claimed have no equivalent worldwide, "will without a doubt in the long term boost the defence capabilities of our state".</p>.<p>The defence ministry said that the plan was to equip both warships and submarines with the Tsirkon.</p>.<p>Putin had revealed the development of the new weapon in a state of the nation address in February 2019, saying it could hit targets at sea and on land with a range of 1,000 kilometres and a speed of Mach 9.</p>.<p>Russia boasts of developing a number of "invincible" weapons that surpass existing systems and include Sarmat intercontinental missiles and Burevestnik cruise missiles.</p>.<p>The first Avangard hypersonic missiles were put into service in December last year.</p>.<p>The programme is not without risks and seven people were killed in an explosion at a missile test site in August 2019. Western experts linked the blast to work on the Burevestnik.</p>
<p>Russia on Wednesday said it had successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in a move hailed by President Vladimir Putin as a "great event" for the country.</p>.<p>The military said that the Tsirkon missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea on Tuesday morning in the Russian Arctic and successfully hit its target.</p>.<p>Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told Putin -- who turned 68 on Wednesday -- that it was the first time the missile had successfully struck a target at sea.</p>.<p>"The tasks of the launch were carried out. The test-fire was successful," he told Putin.</p>.<p>Gerasimov said that the missile hit its target 450 kilometres away in the Barents Sea and hit a Mach 8 speed -- eight times the speed of sound.</p>.<p>Russia has in the last years touted the development of futuristic new weapons which it hopes will give it the edge in any arms race with the United States at a time of growing tensions with the West.</p>.<p>Putin said that the test-firing of Tsirkon was a "great event not just in the life of our armed forces but for all of Russia".</p>.<p>He said that such weapons, which Putin claimed have no equivalent worldwide, "will without a doubt in the long term boost the defence capabilities of our state".</p>.<p>The defence ministry said that the plan was to equip both warships and submarines with the Tsirkon.</p>.<p>Putin had revealed the development of the new weapon in a state of the nation address in February 2019, saying it could hit targets at sea and on land with a range of 1,000 kilometres and a speed of Mach 9.</p>.<p>Russia boasts of developing a number of "invincible" weapons that surpass existing systems and include Sarmat intercontinental missiles and Burevestnik cruise missiles.</p>.<p>The first Avangard hypersonic missiles were put into service in December last year.</p>.<p>The programme is not without risks and seven people were killed in an explosion at a missile test site in August 2019. Western experts linked the blast to work on the Burevestnik.</p>