Putin listed in his speech the areas that he considers untouchable and from which NATO must move away: "Our Arctic zone, the waters of the Black, Okhotsk and Bering seas, and the Baltic and Kuril straits "We will guarantee their defense firmly and by all means.”

The technological novelty introduced by this missile is its ability to exceed up to nine times the speed of sound. That is to say, this projectile would be able to strike down a target in a very short period of time.

According to Russian propaganda, Tsirkon could reach between 6,000 and 10,000 kilometers/hour (3,800-6,900 miles/hour).

That extreme speed makes Western military circles speculate that Tsirkon could elude missile defense systems.

The detailed Wikipedia entry on this missile states that "air pressure in front of it forms a cloud of plasma as it moves, absorbing radio waves and making it virtually invisible to active radar systems."

(With inputs from agencies)