REUTOV, Moscow region. April 2 (Interfax) - Another Avangard system will be delivered to the Russian Armed Forces this year, NPO Mashinostroyenia General Director and General Designer Alexander Leonov told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of an aeronautics event.
"Yes, it will be delivered this year," Leonov said in reply to the relevant question from Interfax.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said in late January that two more missiles with Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles were put on combat duty in Russia in December 2020.
The Defense Ministry gives special attention to the development and delivery of precision-guided and hypersonic weapons systems, he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in December 2019 that the first missile regiment armed with Avangard systems was put on combat duty near Orenburg.
Avangard is Russia's new strategic missile system equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of reaching Mach 27 velocity. It was developed at the Reutov-based NPO Mashinostroyenia (a member of the Tactical Missiles Corporation). According to the Russian military, the Avangard system will be an effective response to the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system.
It was reported that Avangard warheads would first be mounted on UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missiles. Then, new Sarmat ICBMs, which will replace the RS-20V Voyevoda (SS-18 Satan by NATO classification), the world's most powerful strategic silo-based missile, will be used as their delivery vehicles.