Putin aims to CRANK UP armed forces with modern HYPERSONIC weapons to rival US military

Putin announced his emboldened military ambitions on Wednesday, according to Russian state media.

He said: “The key issue on our agenda is to form another long-term state programme for armaments.

“The current program extending till 2027 was launched earlier this year.

“It incorporates the modern world trends in the development of military hardware and weapons as well as the experience of using Russian weaponry in combat in Syria.”

Putin made the remarks exactly one day after Trump’s White House cautioned that its Russian adversaries were rapidly developing “hypersonic” weapons and artificial intelligence.

The news of Putin’s innovative armament plans comes after Russia conducted combined military exercises with China, in an unprecedented move from both nations.

The seven-day joint exercise signalled Putin is flexing his military muscles to assert his dominance on the world stage.

It also reflects a deepening strategic bond between China and Russia.

Moscow has made a concerted effort to foster stronger ties with Beijing in recent years as relations with western nations have soured.

In a show of military might and friendship, the biggest war games since Soviet Russia involved 300,000 troops and 40,000 vehicles.

Speaking about his relationship with China, Putin said: “We have relations based on trust in politics, security, and defence.”

The military exercise comes amid punitive US sanctions against Moscow and a rampant US-China trade war.

Russia’s new military capabilities could transcend those of the US, Putin boasted during a national security speech in March.

Putin told a group of young military officers in June: “A number of our weapons systems are years, and, perhaps, decades ahead of foreign analouges.

“Modern weapons contribute to a multifold increase in the Russian military potential.”

Putin then reportedly showed a video of some of the weapons, which can allegedly reach speeds of up to 3,000mph, just days after meeting Donald Trump in Helsinki, Finland.

The US government views Russia and its advanced weapons as one of the top geopolitical threats in the world.

It set out the views in its National Security Strategy document.

The document read: “China and Russia are developing advanced weapons and capabilities that could threaten our critical infrastructure and our command and control architecture.”