In a new threat to Ukraine and its Western allies, the Russian military has readied for "combat duty" a second hypersonic missile system that President Vladimir Putin boasts can travel 27 times faster than the speed of sound, according to a report.
The Avangard strategic hypersonic system has been placed in a missile silo and switched to combat duty at the Yasnensky missile formation in the Orenburg region of Russia, near the Kazakhstan border, the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing Russian Defense Ministry reports. It's the second hypersonic missile system Russia has placed in Orenburg
In a statement, the defense ministry said the missile system will increase the combat capabilities of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces.
In March, President Joe Biden confirmed Russia had used an the hypersonic missile system in Ukraine, saying "it's almost impossible to stop."
Russia's announcement comes just days after U.S. officials confirmed a plan is in the works to send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine.
The Avangard strategic missile system has a hypersonic gliding winged warhead. In a 2018 speech, Putin called the weapon "invincible," claiming it could reach any target in the world within 30 minutes.
The U.S. is behind Russia and China in the development of a hypersonic missile system, ABC News reported. The U.S. Air Force this month successfully tested a hypersonic AGM-183A missile from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California -- striking a target after reaching more than five times the speed of sound.
It was the first test of a missile prototype that the Air Force hopes will become its first hypersonic missile.
While conceding Russia's hypersonic missile system is hard to defend against, a Moscow-based military analyst told ABC News Sunday that the Kremlin’s decision to put a second regiment in Orenburg is "stupid propaganda," saying Russia has plenty of other intercontinental missiles which could strike the U.S. and describing the Avangard system as "expensive" and "unnecessary."