Russia's Navy is preparing to commission the Perm, its first nuclear submarine purpose-built to carry the Zircon hypersonic missile. Traveling at nearly Mach 9 with a range of almost 1,000 kilometres, the Zircon is designed to outmaneuver modern air defenses and strike both warships and land targets. With advanced stealth features and up to 32 vertical launch cells, the Yasen-M class could reshape naval warfare and pose a serious new threat to U.S. carrier strike groups.

The Perm nuclear-powered submarine will come into service in the Russian Navy this year

Reports suggest the submarine could be equipped with 32 Zircon missiles – slightly more than Russia’s known annual production number.