<p class="title">Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed final tests of a hypersonic missile, which he earlier said would render existing missile defence systems obsolete.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"On my instructions, the Ministry of Defence prepared and conducted a final test of this system. This has just been completed with absolute success," Putin said during a televised meeting with members of the government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Russia has a new type of strategic weapon," he said, adding that the intercontinental "Avangard" system would be ready for use from 2019.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Kremlin told Russian news agencies the test had taken place in far eastern Kamchatka while Putin was at the national defence control centre.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Putin unveiled features of the Avangard during his annual address in March, which he said would be part of a new generation of "invincible" weaponry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hypersonic missile could fly at 20 times the speed of sound and manoeuvre up and down, meaning it could breach defence systems, he said at the time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The final test comes after US President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out of a key Cold War-era nuclear weapons pact, the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Putin has laid out plans to develop missiles banned under the deal if the United States abandons it.</p>
<p class="title">Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed final tests of a hypersonic missile, which he earlier said would render existing missile defence systems obsolete.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"On my instructions, the Ministry of Defence prepared and conducted a final test of this system. This has just been completed with absolute success," Putin said during a televised meeting with members of the government.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Russia has a new type of strategic weapon," he said, adding that the intercontinental "Avangard" system would be ready for use from 2019.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Kremlin told Russian news agencies the test had taken place in far eastern Kamchatka while Putin was at the national defence control centre.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Putin unveiled features of the Avangard during his annual address in March, which he said would be part of a new generation of "invincible" weaponry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hypersonic missile could fly at 20 times the speed of sound and manoeuvre up and down, meaning it could breach defence systems, he said at the time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The final test comes after US President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out of a key Cold War-era nuclear weapons pact, the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Putin has laid out plans to develop missiles banned under the deal if the United States abandons it.</p>