Putin Says Russian Navy to Get New Hypersonic Missiles Soon

Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg, Putin praised Tsar Peter the Great for making Russia a great sea power. Putin did not mention Ukraine directly.

But the Kremlin chief said he had signed a new navy doctrine, the details of which were not published, and touted the Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles as unique in the world, Reuters reported.

"The delivery of these (missiles) to the Russian armed forces will start in the coming months," Putin said. "The Admiral Gorshkov frigate will be the first to go on combat duty with these formidable weapons on board.

"The key thing here is the capability of the Russian navy... It is able to respond with lightning speed to all who decide to infringe on our sovereignty and freedom."

Hypersonic weapons can travel at nine times the speed of sound, and Russia has conducted previous test-launches of the Zircon from warships and submarines over the past year.