‘More intimidating than a nuke’: Chinese media heap praise on Russia’s highly advanced Avangard missile system

Russia’s Avangard missile system is a “masterpiece of the Russian Army” and a “more intimidating weapon than a nuclear bomb,” according to Sina, one of the world's biggest Chinese-language websites.

As a hypersonic missile, the Avangard is capable of flying faster than the speed of sound, making it “absolutely invulnerable to any air or missile defense system,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He also noted that Russia is the only country in the world with hypersonic weapons, meaning other countries are “playing catch-up.”

Sina highlighted Russia's superiority in the development of hypersonic weapons. For example, the US is yet to deploy any missiles analogous to Avangard, although the country’s development of a hypersonic weapon is progressing. Dubbed by US President Donald Trump as a “super-duper” weapon, the American missile has successfully been tested at “17 times the speed of sound,” but is unlikely to be in active service before 2023.

Avangard was unveiled in 2018 and is part of a trio of modern Russian missile technology, alongside ‘Yars’ and ‘Sarmat.’ The Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) complex first entered service in 2010, and has the ability to hit a target 11,000km away. In two years, they are expected to be joined by Sarmat, an ICBM that has “virtually no range limit.” This was designed by Russia as a response to the US’ Prompt Global Strike system, which aims to have the ability to deliver an airstrike to anywhere on the planet within an hour.

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