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Moscow's new Borei II submarines will be capable of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with hypersonic weapons. Each submarine could launch up to 200 hypersonic weapons, posing a major threat to the West if a world war was to break out. A hypersonic weapon can travel about one mile per second, making them at least five times faster than the speed of sound. Borei II is the first class of submarines developed by Russia since the height of the Cold War, according to CNBC.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is thought to have slashed funding for other military projects to fund the ambitious programme. Earlier this year Mr Putin taunted Nato by hailing his nation's hypersonic arsenal as "invincible". At a major speech in Moscow, he said the development of the weapons would render Nato's defences "completely useless". Playing down fears of an imminent conflict between Russia and the US, Mr Putin said: "We have no plans to be an aggressor.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is ramping up Moscow's naval fleet

Russia's Yuri Dolgoruky nuclear submarine launches Bulava missiles

Russia's strong military is a guarantor of peace on our planet Vladimir Putin

"We are not going to take anything away from anybody. Russia's strong military is a guarantor of peace on our planet. "But any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, any kind of attack, will be regarded as a nuclear attack against Russia. "In response, we will take action instantaneously, no matter what the consequences are. "Nobody should have any doubt about that."

A hypersonic weapon can travel about one mile per second