Russia’s Admiral Gorshkov frigate, armed with SZircon hypersonic missiles has docked in Cape Town, South Africa. This is ahead of joint military drills expected to be carried out with South Africa, Russia and China. Russia is nearing its first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and this is an opportunity for MOscow to show it is not isolated on the world stage. 

The Russian foreign minister and his South African counterpart defended the naval drills after they held talks in Pretoria during Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s first visit to South Africa since the invasion. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate is expected to perform a training launch of a Zircon hypersonic missile. The joint exercise is expected to include some 350 South African National Defense Force. The drills include the Zircon hypersonic missiles for the first time, the long-range weapons travel over five times the speed of sound. 

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