Russia's armed forces marked birthday of President Vladimir Putin's 68th birthday with the successful test launch of a hypersonic missile.
The Tsikron missile, which can travel at 8 times the speed of sound, was launched from a vessel in the White Sea in Russia's north-west, said the chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov. It successfully hit its target in the Barents Sea, he added.
The missile covered a distance of 450km in four and half-minutes after reaching a hypersonic speed of more than Mach 8.
Putin takes pride in hypersonic weapons, contrasting Russia's status as world-leader in their development with the Cold War when Moscow played catch-up to the US in terms of military technology.
Putin praised the test in remarks broadcast on television: "This is a major event not only in the life of the armed forces but also for all of Russia, for the whole country."