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The rocket travels 10 times faster than the speed of sound...
Russia has begun mass production of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile system.
The news was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin. His statement appears to be a response to Trump, who has recently been trumpeting the launch of nuclear tests. It is also a message to NATO.
"We have created, put into operation and launched mass production of the Oreshnik medium-range missile system," Putin said during an awards ceremony for the manufacturers of Poseidon and Burevestnik.
Referring to this rocket earlier, Putin had spoken of a historic event in the rocket and space industry.
"Nothing like this has happened before. It's the first time something like this has happened with this type of weapon," he stressed.
What do we know about the new Russian missile "Oreshnik"?
A Russian airstrike on the Ukrainian city of Dnieper in late November 2024 caused explosions that lasted nearly three hours and were described by witnesses as “unusual.” Ukraine claimed that the missile used had the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) — a claim that Western officials denied, stressing that such an attack would have automatically triggered a nuclear alert in the United States.
A few hours later, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed in a televised address that Russia had launched a "new medium-range conventional missile" codenamed "Oreshnik" (hazelnut in Russian).
According to him, the weapon travels at Mach 10 (that is, 10 times faster than the speed of sound or 2.5-3 km per second) and "there is no way to intercept it."
If Putin's claims are correct, Oreshnik is approaching the limits of hypersonic technology. The faster a missile travels, the less time defense systems have to intercept it. The increased kinetic energy allows the weapon to maneuver during the final phase of its flight, making it harder for systems like the American Patriot to intercept it.
According to Western estimates, about 80% of Russian missiles launched against Ukraine are intercepted, a rate that Moscow appears to be trying to lower with new, faster weapons systems.
Russian military analyst Ilya Kramnik told the Izvestiya newspaper that Oreshnik is likely to be a new generation of medium-range missiles, with a range of 2,500 to 3,000 kilometers — possibly up to 5,000 kilometers — but is not classified as intercontinental. Its range would allow it to hit targets in almost all of Europe.
According to Kramnik, the missile has several independently guided nuclear warheads and could be a "scaled down version" of the infamous Yars-M ICBM missile, which Russia is reported to have begun new production of in 2023.
Another expert, Dmitry Kornev, believes that the "Oreshnik" could be based on the already known Iskander system, but with a new generation engine. Tests of such a reinforced Iskander were carried out last spring at the Kapustin Yar firing range - from where, according to information, the missile that hit the Dnieper was launched.
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