On October 29, TASS news agency reported that Russia’s Avangard hypersonic weapon system will be deployed by the end of 2019, according to a defense industry source. The Russian Defense Ministry has stated that the hypersonic missile would be placed on combat duty in the Red Banner Missile Division in the Orenburg Region in southwest Russia near the Kazakhstan border. The Avangard system is comprised of an ICBM and a hypersonic glide vehicle.