The first embarkment of the NPO Mashinostroyenia 3M22 Zircon missile on the 4,500-ton Admiral Gorshkov ship comes a year later than scheduled.

The move stems from a defense industrial base study that the Biden administration reported out last year.

The announcement came in a joint press statement released following a call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden on Jan. 5. 

The possibility of Iranian missile transfers to Russia creates a race against time for Ukraine’s air defense.

The latest drawdown package raises the overall assistance to Ukraine from the U.S. government to $21.3 billion since Russia invaded its neighbor.

The war in Ukraine has highlighted shortfalls in the stockpile and industrial base for missiles, with both sides expending thousands of missiles so far.

A far more powerful alternative is already close to moving into development, with a competition expected to be decided within days or weeks. 

Thirty members of a secretive Russian military unit that programs the flightpaths of cruise missiles targeting Ukraine have been sanctioned.