A Russian frigate armed with ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic Zircon missiles is staging war games as it sails towards Britain.

Footage shows the warship Admiral Gorshkov, which is carrying one of the world’s deadliest weapons, “repelling a simulated enemy’s air strikes” in stormy conditions in the Norwegian Sea – six days into the mission to challenge the West.

The vessel is armed with new Mach 9 nuclear-capable Zircon missiles, which travel at speeds of nearly 7,000mph, as well as Kalibr missiles. The warship is sailing towards Britain and footage released today showed the vessel taking part in a military exercise. Video on Zvezda TV did not include the launch of any missiles during the drills.

“The purpose of the exercise was to test the operation of the air defence circuit, its systems, air and electronic lighting systems, anti-aircraft fire systems, tactical camouflage electronic warfare systems and air defence circuit control systems,” said the commentary.

The tasks were “achieved”, said the channel. “The ship is ready to repel air attacks from different altitudes and directions.”

The tasks were ‘achieved’, said the channel. “The ship is ready to repel air attacks from different altitudes and directions.”

The Gorshkov, which is on its first deployment, set sail from Severomorsk last week and is set to pass Britain ahead of war games in the Mediterranean – but Moscow has yet to reveal the exact timings or route for the warship.

Putin has previously claimed the missiles have “no equivalent in the world” and their arrival comes at a much-needed time for Russia after multiple setbacks in Ukraine, with nearly 3,000 troops lost already this year.

After setting sail on its first deployment last week, the vessel immediately fired a test launch of the nuclear-capable cutting-edge Zircon missiles into the Barents Sea, hitting a target 620 miles away in the White Sea, the Kremlin claimed.

Putin could hardly contain his joy announcing the news last week as he said, “I am sure that such powerful weapons will make it possible to reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure the national interests of our country.”

The president proudly said it was an “important, if not momentous, event” as the vessel set sail in a task force from Severomorsk. More than 10 months into the fighting, Russia has faced a series of humiliating setbacks on the ground in Ukraine.

The Russian military’s high command has come in for particular criticism in recent days following a strike by Ukrainian forces over New Year in which Moscow said 89 of its soldiers died.

Putin said last week, “The frigate Admiral Gorshkov is embarking on a long sea voyage. There is nothing unusual here: it is commonplace, but this time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic rocket system Zircon, which has no match.

“It is a hypersonic sea-based system – [and the vessel has other] latest-generation weapons…As I said, it has no equivalent in any country in the world. I am sure that such a powerful weapon will allow us to reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and help ensure our country’s national interests.”

Putin insisted, “I want to stress that we will continue to develop the combat capabilities of the armed forces and produce promising weapons. I would like to wish the ship’s crew every success in their service for the good of the Motherland.”

He added, “I am very glad. My congratulations. This is a very big, collective piece of work which ended up with a good result as expected. Begin your task.”

Moscow has previously boasted that the Gorshkov is “the most dangerous enemy of surface ships in the world’s oceans” now it is armed with the new hypersonic missile. It is also carrying state-of-the-art Kalibr missiles – used against Ukraine – in its armoury.

The frigate’s captain Igor Krokhmal has said previously, “No one will see the missile launch or its flight.

“They will only see when the missile hits the target. A surface target, a coastal target. I don’t think there will be anything to counter this in the next few years.”

• A Daily Mail report