MOSCOW, Dec 24 — President Vladimir Putin said today the Russian military successfully fired a simultaneous salvo of its Zircon hypersonic missiles, calling it "a big event” for the country.

As world powers race to develop advanced weaponry, Russia has carried out a number of successful tests of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile.

This was however the first time that Russian authorities reported a successful simultaneous launch test of several Zircon missiles.

Speaking at a government meeting today, Putin said that the salvo launch of the missile had been conducted overnight.

"The tests were conducted successfully, immaculately,” Putin said in televised remarks.

"This is a big event in the life of the country and a considerable step in strengthening Russia’s security and improving its defence capability,” he added.

A spokesman for the Russian defence ministry could not provide further details when reached by AFP.

Russia, the United States, France and China have all been experimenting with so-called hypersonic glide vehicles — defined as reaching speeds of at least Mach 5.

Putin revealed the development of the new weapon in a state of the nation address in February 2019, saying it could hit targets at sea and on land within a range of 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) at a speed of Mach 9. — AFP