Russian Navy vessels capable of firing 40 Zircon missiles on U.S. military targets

MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Navy vessels can fire 40 hypersonic cruise Zircon missiles at a time and successfully hit U.S. military control centers, Russian retired Rear Adm. Vsevolod Khmyrov said Thursday.

The Zircon could reach targets 500 kilometers (311 miles) away in five minutes, Khmyrov was quoted as saying by the Sputnik news agency.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his address to Russia's Federal Assembly that the advanced hypersonic Zircon would have a speed of 9 Mach (11,000 kph or 6,900 mph) and a flight range of over 1,000 kilometers.

"Such a hypersonic system as Zircon penetrates practically any air defense and missile defense system," Khmyrov said. "There is no protection from it."