Did you see that one, Alaska? Russia’s Pacific Fleet fires Oniks supersonic cruise missile from coast for first time

A coastal defence system deployed in Russia’s Far East has for the first time fired the Oniks cruise missile, developed to pierce the anti-missile capabilities of US Navy warships.

Oniks has a ramjet engine capable of boosting its speed to Mach 2, making it difficult to intercept, and has a range of up to 600km (373 miles). The anti-ship weapon is usually deployed on Russian Navy ships, but can also be fired by the mobile launchers of the Bastion coastal defense system.

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry released footage of a new test firing of the Bastion/Oniks combo, which for the first time took place in Chukotka, a large region in the Far East which is defended by the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

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The missile traveled over 200km (124 miles) before successfully hitting the target ship. The ministry said a dozen ships and reconnaissance aircraft were deployed to ensure that the exercise was safe. The launcher and its crew fired the missile from a desolate area after a long march to test their ability to pose a credible deterrence to an enemy fleet in a hostile environment.

Oniks-armed Bastion launchers are increasingly deployed to remote parts of Russia. Last year, the weapon system was tested for the Russian Arctic region during an exercise by the Northern Fleet at Kotelny Island.

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