With the Kh47M2 Kinzhal, 3M22 Tzirkon and Yu-74 Avangard programs, Russia has taken a significant lead in terms of hypersonic weapons and missiles. But President Vladimir Putin does not intend to rest on his laurels, and capitalize on this advance by developing defense systems against these hypersonic missiles.
The interest in Moscow is twofold. On the one hand, the development of anti-missile systems capable of intercepting hypersonic weapons would effectively neutralize the threat, even though the West is only trying to develop its own hypersonic missiles. Remember that the US Air Force is expecting the first hypersonic missile tests for 2021, and that the Franco-British FMAN/FMC missile, also supposed to be hypersonic, should not enter service before 2027.
Secondly, this would allow Russian industries to offer for export equipment without equivalent on the international market, capable of providing an unequaled degree of protection for several years. Given Russian export successes with the S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, having a system combining anti-aircraft, anti-ballistic and anti-hypersonic weapons capabilities would certainly find buyer in the international Defense ecosystem.
Finally, note that this would strengthen Russia's resilience to a preventive attack, while the country is developing, at the same time, short- and medium-range ballistic missile programs, and hypersonic cruise missiles, capable of carrying out these first keystrokes, or to respond to them. In other words, Russia would gain a significant advantage over NATO in an area that has always been considered strategic by the countries of the alliance.