Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yuriy Borisov said in a statement to the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda that the Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile system could destroy large naval targets including aircraft carriers and destroyers.

The newspaper also published details on test launch of the Dagger hypersonic missile, which Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to its capability to neutralize all current and future missile defence systems in his state-of-the-nation address on 1 March. The Kinzhal missile was launched from a MiG-31 aircraft that took off from an airfield in Russia's Southern Military District, the Defense Ministry said on March 11. “The launch went according to plan, the hypersonic missile hit its target on a testing ground,” the ministry said, without disclosing information on the target.