Russia's 'invulnerable' nuclear missile ready to deploy, says Putin

Russia's new hypersonic missile system, which President Vladimir Putin claims is "invulnerable" to US defenses, will enter service in 2019, the Russian leader said after a test of the missile Wednesday.

"Russia is the first in the world to receive a new type of strategic weapon and this will reliably ensure the security of our state and of our people for decades to come," Putin said, according to the state-run Tass news service.

"This is a wonderful, excellent gift for the country for the New Year," Tass quotes Putin as saying.

The Avangard hypersonic system was tested from the Dombarovsky military airbase in southwest Russia, according to Tass.

Earlier reports say the Avangard has intercontinental range and the ability to fly as fast as Mach 20, more than 15,000 miles per hour.

As it closes in on its target, the missile with a maneuverable gliding warhead can adjust both altitude and direction to avoid defenses and fly low enough to avoid most interceptors, Tass has reported.

"It will be practically invulnerable," Putin said when he boasted of the Avangard during a March address to the Russian Parliament.

While there was no immediate Pentagon comment on Putin's announcement Wednesday, a US official expressed doubt to CNN about the weapon systems which Putin talked about in March, saying they were not close to operational.

Analysts, too, caution that Russian boasts of new military capabilities are often not backed up in reality.

"Limited funding and other defense industrial resources have also threatened a variety of other Russian strategic and non-strategic military modernization efforts," Joseph Trevithick, a fellow at GlobalSecurity.org, wrote on The War Zone blog. "It remains to be seen just how rapidly the Kremlin can actually get its new hypersonic weapon into service and to what degree."

But Putin's announcement Wednesday indicates Moscow is still pursuing weapons systems that give the Pentagon pause for thought.

Gen John Hyten, the four-star head of US Strategic Command, warned in March the current generation of US missile-detecting satellites and radars won't be capable of spotting weapons such as the Avangard.

"We are going to need a different set of sensors in order to see the hypersonic threats," Hyten told CNN at the time.