Russia deploys first hypersonic missiles

Avangard capable of carrying 2-megaton nuclear weapon at 27 times the speed of sound

Russia has deployed its first hypersonic nuclear-capable missiles, with Vladimir Putin boasting that it puts his country in a class of its own.

The president described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which can fly at 27 times the speed of sound, as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch of the first satellite.