Russia will bolster new nuclear submarines with hypersonic missiles

Russia is equipping its new Yasen-class nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, according to Alexey Rakhmanov, the head of Russia's largest shipbuilder. 

"Work in this direction is already underway," Rakhmanov told the RIA Novosti state news agency in an interview published on Monday.

Zircon hypersonic missiles are long-range weapons that travel more than five times the speed of sound and are harder to detect and intercept.

“The armament of serial frigates with this system will be carried out in accordance with the plan of the Russian Ministry of Defense during their construction and operation,” Rakhmanov added.

The Yasen-M multi-purpose nuclear submarines, also known as Project 885M, are a modernized version of Project 885. The Russian Navy now has one Project 885 and two 885M submarines, according to RIA Novosti