Russia warns the West by releasing chilling new footage showing the launch of an 'unstoppable' Zircon [Tsirkon] nuclear-capable Mach 9 hypersonic missile from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in Barents Sea on May 28, 2022.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the Barents Sea in 2022 launching a Zircon nuclear-capable missile (Picture: MoD Russia/e2w)

A Russian navy warship equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles has conducted drills in the English Channel, state media reported.

The Northern Fleet frigate Admiral Golovko carried out mock attacks against enemy forces, counter-terrorism drills and fending off air and sea drones.

Before proceeding into the Strait of Dover, the ship conducted drills in the Barents, Norwegian, and North Seas.

‘During the passage through the strait zone, the crew of the Russian frigate conducted an exercise to ensure air defence and anti-submarine defence of a detachment of ships, as well as several training sessions to conduct rescue operations using deck aviation – Ka-27 helicopters,’ the fleet’s press service said, according to TASS.

Frigate Admiral Golovko left Severomorsk, the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet, on November 2, the Russian defence ministry said Sunday.

The 443-foot-long frigate crossed the narrowest part of the Channel – Pas de Calais – on Sunday. Dover is just 25 miles away from Calais.

Vladimir Putin???s most modern frigate Admiral Golovko taunted Britain and France by staging war game exercises as it sailed through the English Channel on its maiden long-distance voyage.
Admiral Golovko has been tearing through the world’s oceans carrying out game exercises right under the noses of Putin’s enemies (Picture: Zvezda News/east2west news)
Russian navy warship carrying hypersonic missiles conducts drills in English Channel, state media says
Matt Coker spotted the ship along the Dover Strait (Picture: Matt Coker – Coker Sea Fishing Dover Strait Shipping – FotoFlite)
Russian navy warship carrying hypersonic missiles conducts drills in English Channel, state media says
The Northern Fleet has been conducting various training exercises (Picture: Matt Coker- Coker Sea Fishing Dover Strait Shipping – FotoFlite)

Admiral Golovko’s long-distance voyage aims to ‘demonstrate the flag and ensure a naval presence in operationally important areas of the distant ocean zone’.

Unlike ballistic missiles which fly like a cannonball, cruise missiles shoot horizontally at a low altitude. These single-use, expensive weapons can roar through the air at supersonic speeds and carry out complex flight paths.

A 3M22 Zicron can reach eight times the speed of sound, has a range of 625 miles and can carry a 660-pound nuclear warhead, the Kremlin claims.

They are ‘nearly impossible to defend against due to its speed alone’, the American non-profit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance says. A vessel in certain conditions would only have about 15 seconds to react.

Vladimir Putin ordered the mass production of the missiles in 2023 in a bid to beef up the country’s nuclear power. However, some experts doubt whether Russia has the resources and money to make Zircon missiles on a large scale.

Admiral Golovok specialises in long-range strikes and anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare. Fitted with 3S14 VLS cells, the vessel can launch Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.

Kalibr missiles are generally intended for land attacks and have a range of 1,500 miles. An Oniks missile, meanwhile, can reach 370 miles away and has been a go-to weapon for the Russian army in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

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