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Putin: New Nuclear Weapons to Enter Duty in Next Few Years


Image from video provided by RU-RTR Russian television via AP television on March 1, 2018, shows a computer simulation of the Avangard hypersonic vehicle being released from booster rockets.
Image from video provided by RU-RTR Russian television via AP television on March 1, 2018, shows a computer simulation of the Avangard hypersonic vehicle being released from booster rockets.

President Vladimir Putin says the Russian military will start receiving new nuclear weapons in the coming years.

Speaking at a meeting Friday in Sochi, Putin said delivery of the new Avangard hypersonic vehicle will begin next year while the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will enter duty in 2020.

The Avangard and the Sarmat were among an array of new nuclear weapons Putin presented in March, saying that they can't be intercepted. They also included a nuclear-powered global range cruise missile and an underwater drone designed to strike coastal facilities with a heavy nuclear weapon.

Putin said two other new systems unveiled in March — the Kinzhal hypersonic missile and the laser weapon called Peresvet — have already been put on duty with the units of Russia's Southern Military District.

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