TASS reports that a Russian frigate carrying hypersonic Zircon missiles will join South African training in February.
According to the state-owned TASS news agency, a Russian cruiser with hypersonic cruise weaponry will practice with the Chinese and South African navies in February.
The Russian frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov was first officially mentioned on Monday.
Zircon missiles, which fly nine times faster than sound, are armed to the frigate (620 miles).
Russia’s hypersonic arsenal includes the Avangard glide vehicle and the missiles.
“‘Admiral Gorshkov’… will go to the logistic support point in Syria’s Tartus, and then take part in combined naval drills with the Chinese and South African navies,” TASS reported, citing a defense source.
The South African National Defence Force will conduct the drills from February 17–26 in Durban and Richards Bay on the east coast.
“To improve the existing blooming links between South Africa, Russia and China,” the joint exercise stated on Thursday.
The military force noted that the 2019 practice was the first of two involving the three countries in South Africa.
After President Vladimir Putin deployed the Gorshkov to the Atlantic Ocean, it exercised in the Norwegian Sea earlier this month.
Putin has declared the frigate and Zircon missiles have “no counterparts in the world”.
The Russian president believes the weapons can breach the US’s advanced missile defenses.
Russia, the US, and China are racing to develop hypersonic weapons, which are faster and harder to detect.
