Russia has canceled tests of its newest hypersonic missile, the Avangard
The Russian military has canceled the test launch of the “Avangard” hypersonic missile, which had been scheduled for early September. This is one of the six weapons systems that Vladimir Putin unveiled in 2018.
According to publicly available information, the tests were to take place on September 3–5 at the Dombrovsky test range in the Orenburg region, where the only Strategic Missile Forces division armed with these missiles is stationed. Pavel Podvig, a senior research fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, writes about this.
Russia issued NOTAMs to pilots in advance, closing off dangerous areas to air traffic. The restrictions applied, in particular, to the area around the silos housing the “Avangards,” as well as territories in the Tyumen Region and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, where rocket debris could fall. A separate notice concerned the Kura test site in Kamchatka, where the warhead was supposed to land.
However, the launch of the UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missile with the “Avangard” hypersonic glide vehicle did not take place. Podvig believes that this refers specifically to the cancellation of the test, rather than a failed launch, since the NOTAMs were not rescinded after the scheduled date.
The last successful launch of the “Avangard” took place in December 2018. According to SIPRI, as of early 2026, Russia had 12 such systems in service with a range of up to 10,000 km.
This is reported by Russian propaganda media.
Ukraine is developing jet interceptors to counter Russia’s new weapons.
Video: About 60% of Ukraine’s strikes against Russia in 2026 were carried out using Fire Point weapons.
As a reminder, Fire Point will bring its Flamingo cruise missiles and FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles to an exhibition in Poland.
The State Audit Service has published the results of its audit of Fire Point’s contracts.
Fire Point is working on developing its own engine for the FP-5 Flamingo missile.
