Inside Story

Is a new hypersonic arms race underway?

Vladimir Putin boasts nothing can shoot down Russia’s latest missile.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will soon be the first to deploy “invincible” hypersonic missiles.

He says the Avangard weapon guarantees Russian security for decades to come. Supersonic is slow compared with hypersonic.

Flying at many times the speed of sound, they are designed to evade missile shield systems to strike anywhere in the world.

Wednesday’s test-firing hasn’t been independently verified.

But with the United States, China – and possibly others – developing similar technology, how big a threat are the new, high-speed weapons?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Tarif Rauf – nuclear arms control specialist

Pavel Felgenhauer – Russian defence analyst

Richard Weitz – director, Center for Political-Military Analysis, Hudson Institute