MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday said it had successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in a move hailed by President Vladimir Putin as a “great event” for the country. The military said that the Tsirkon missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea on Tuesday morning in the Russian Arctic and successfully hit its target.

Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, told Putin — who turned 68 on Wednesday — that it was the first time the missile had successfully struck a target at sea.

“The tasks of the launch were carried out. The test-fire was successful,” he told Putin.

Gerasimov said that the missile hit its target 450 kilometres away in the Barents Sea and hit a Mach 8 speed — eight times the speed of sound.