Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni following their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia, May 17, 2017.

WASHINGTON — Russia's defense minister on Friday declared a new hypersonic weapon, which is said to be capable of striking the United States, ready for war.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a conference call with Russian military leaders that the first missile unit equipped with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle entered combat duty.

Russia's Strategic Missile Forces chief, Gen. Sergei Karakayev, added that Avangard was put on duty with a unit in the Orenburg region in the southern Ural Mountains.

Avangard can travel at least five times the speed of sound, or about one mile per second.

It was one of the six new weapons that Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled in March 2018. At the time, the Russian leader claimed the hypersonic weapon was capable of reaching targets at 20 times the speed of sound and that it could strike "like a fireball." He also said that the device had already entered serial production.