Putin says Russian navy to get hypersonic Zircon missiles in 2022

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff Valery Gerasimov, via a video conference call at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia October 7, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tests of Russia's Zircon hypersonic cruise missile are nearing completion and deliveries to the navy will begin in 2022, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

The move is part of a bid by Moscow to forge ahead in a race with the United States and others to deploy the next generation of long-range weapons that are harder to detect and intercept.