Weapons

Russia shows cutting-edge Avangard hypersonic glider to US inspectors

Moscow has showcased its top notch Avangard hypersonic missile system to a team of US military inspectors, saying the unprecedented move is an attempt to revitalize the key New START arms control treaty.

The US team became familiar with Avangard over the past two days, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how close the US inspectors were able to get to the cutting-edge system and whether it was shown to them in action.

The Avangard is a hypersonic glider, launched by silo-based ballistic missiles, said to be able to penetrate any – both existing and prospective – defenses. It achieves extremely high speeds during its final approach while retaining the ability to maneuver.