Russia may have planned first Avangard hypersonic test in eight years but canceled launch
Avangard missile complex (Photo: Video screenshot / Russian Ministry of Defense / Telegram)
Russia was likely preparing to test its Avangard hypersonic system for the first time since 2018, but the launch was canceled, The Insider reported, citing nuclear forces expert Pavel Podvig on Sept. 8.
Podvig, after analyzing aviation warnings issued ahead of the possible launch and statements from local authorities, among other information, concluded that preparations were underway to test the Avangard rather than another Russian intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat.
The test was scheduled for Sept. 3-5. An UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missile carrying an Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle was expected to be launched from the Dombarovsky/Yasny area in Russia's Orenburg Oblast toward the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, according to the expert.
The planned launch was canceled for an unknown reason, but there were no signs of a launch accident.
Russian authorities did not publicly announce preparations for or the cancellation of the test.
The Avangard is a Russian strategic missile system equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, The Insider reported.
After being accelerated by a booster rocket, the vehicle travels toward its target through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed and can maneuver in both direction and altitude.
The last known test of the system took place in December 2018.
Vladimir Putin presented the missile system as a response to U.S. development of next-generation missile defense systems, which he has claimed the Avangard can penetrate.
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