Putin says Navy to get hypersonic nuclear weapons

Vladimir Putin said on Sunday (July 26) that the Russian Navy would be armed with hyper-sonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defense ministry said were in their final phase of testing.

It's not the first time the Russian president has spoken about a new generation of nuclear weapons that he says can hit almost anywhere in the world - and speaking at an annual naval parade in St Petersburg, he said capabilities were growing.

"The modernization of our navy constantly continues. This year it will receive 40 vessels of different classes. Several days ago three main Russian shipyards started the construction of six more vessels for the far seas. Unique advantages and the increase of combat capabilities of the fleet will be achieved by introducing the cutting edge of digital technology, hyper-sonic missile strike systems."

The combination of speed, maneuverability and altitude of hyper-sonic missiles, capable of traveling at more than five times the speed of sound, makes them difficult to track and intercept.

But some Western experts have questioned how advanced they are.