MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted on Tuesday that Russia has missiles capable of penetrating any missile defense system, an apparent allusion to the U.S. defense network, Russian news agencies reported.
"Russia last year tested missile systems that no one in the world has and won't have for a long time," he was quoted by the ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies as telling a news conference.
"These missile systems don't represent a response to a missile defense system, but they are immune to that. They are hypersonic and capable of changing their flight path."
Putin said he had shown the working principles of the missile systems to French President Jacques Chirac during a visit to a Russian military facility.
"He knows what I'm talking about," RIA-Novosti quoted Putin as telling reporters after state-run news channels cut their live broadcast of the news conference.
The U.S. defense system against long-range missiles is limited mainly to an installation in Alaska, where at least six missile interceptors are in underground silos, linked to a command and control system. It is designed mainly to shoot down missiles fired at U.S. territory from North Korea, with future expansion planned.
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