Russia the world leader in hypersonic missiles says Putin

(News 1st); Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that Russia is the world leader in hypersonic missiles and that eventually when other Nations produce such armament, Russia will have invented far more superior technology to counteract those new weapons.

The United States and Russia are equal competitors, whereas the number of warheads and their carriers are concerned, these comments made by President Putin were aired as part of a documentary film called "Russia. New History"

Russia holds the number one position globally in advanced developments by the scale of upgrades of its defence systems.

Russia's Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles underwent testing last month as they are nearing completion, deliveries to the Russian navy will commence in 2022.

Certain western experts have questioned how advanced Russia's new generation of weapons are, while recognizing that the combination of speed, maneuverability and altitude of the hypersonic missiles makes them difficult to track and intercept.

They travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere, or about 6,200 km per hour. This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle allows it to maneuver toward a target or away from defences.

Russia has spent US$62 billion on military expenditure in 2020 as apposed to US$778 billion spent by the United States proving that Moscow's military expenditure is much less than its counterpart , according to World Bank data.

The United States and China are currently engaged in an arms race to develop the most lethal hypersonic weapons.

In October, a Chinese hypersonic weapons test that military experts say appears to show Beijing's pursuit of an Earth-orbiting system designed to evade American missile defences , a top US military officer, General Mark Milley, confirmed.

Putin spoke about Russia's military power in the above mentioned documentary film, where he lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago as the demise of what he called "historical Russia".