Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially launched the nuclear-powered submarine Perm, marking a significant milestone in Russia's naval capabilities. The launch took place via video link from the Arctic port of Murmansk, with Putin authorizing the event with the command, "Go ahead!".

The Perm is the sixth submarine in Russia's Yasen and Yasen-M classes, constructed at the Sevmash shipyard. It is notable for being the first in its class to be equipped with Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic missiles as a standard feature.

These missiles can travel at several times the speed of sound, have a range of 900 km (560 miles), and are extremely difficult to defend against due to their speed and manoeuvrability. The submarine's design has been slightly modified compared to earlier models in its class to accommodate these advanced weapons.

During his visit to Murmansk, Putin also toured another submarine, Arkhangelsk, from the same class, and inspected Atomflot, which oversees Russia's icebreaker projects.

The Perm highlights Russia's ongoing efforts to modernize its naval forces and strengthen its strategic deterrence capabilities.

Reuters