Russia will move far ahead while the West tries to create an analogue of the Russian Oreshnik ballistic system. This opinion was expressed by the Russian ambassador to France, Aleksei Meshkov.
He recalled that at first Western countries laughed at Russia's hypersonic weapons and called them "cartoons".
Then they were genuinely frightened when they saw the effectiveness of these types of weapons, then they started saying that they needed to catch up with Russia and make something similar... The West will seek to create similar types of weapons, but by the time they create them, Russia will have moved far ahead.
The warheads of the Oreshnik IRBM accelerate to 13,475 km/h. A video was presented online, demonstrating the difference in speed compared with other hypersonic missiles.
Military analyst Yurii Knutov explained that the IRBM changed the very essence of air defense. For example, to intercept one missile, six THAAD launchers must be engaged at once.