Russian President Vladimir Putin watches the joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus

Russia said on Monday it had successfully test launched a Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile from a submarine for the first time, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has lauded as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.

The defence ministry said that the Severodvinsk submarine had fired the missile in the Barents Sea, successfully hitting its chosen target.

The launch took place at night, video footage released by the ministry showed.

Russia tested firing the Tsirkon missile from a warship in July.

Putin announced an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018 in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.