Russia’s Hypersonic Missile 3M22 Zircon or Tsirkon to Enter Service.

 

According to information published by Tass on July 29, 2022, the advanced Tsirkon or Zircon hypersonic missile designed for Navy surface ships is set to enter service. Earlier, the Tsirkon missile was expected to enter service with the Russian Navy by the end of 2022 or early 2023.

The Tsirkon hypersonic missile was developed and is produced by the Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (NPO Mashinostroeniya, part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation) in Reutov in the Moscow Region. On February 20, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his state-of-the-nation address that the Tsirkon hypersonic missile could develop a speed of Mach 9 and had a range of over 1,000 km.

On August 24, 2021, a contract was signed at the Army 2021 international military and technical forum on the delivery of Tsirkon hypersonic missiles to the Russian Defense Ministry. On December 24, 2021, Putin said that a Tsirkon salvo had been test fired “successfully.” It was reported in the fall of 2021 that Russia began the first tests of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile from an underwater carrier, the nuclear-powered submarine Severodvinsk.

On May 28 this year, a Tsirkon hypersonic missile was test-fired to the longest possible range, wrapping up the weapon’s state trials from a surface carrier, the Northern Fleet’s frigate Admiral Gorshkov. The warship fired the missile from the Barents Sea against a naval target in the White Sea at a distance of about 1,000 km.

Russia’s Next-Generation Hypersonic Weapons.

“Work is underway to create a new generation of hypersonic missiles for land, air, and sea platforms. In terms of their characteristics, they will surpass the existing and future developments of the leading states,” Borisov told Interfax. Borisov stated that tests of the next-generation armaments are ready. However, the development of new hypersonic weapons, particularly the new Zircon hypersonic missile.

Hypersonic missile, such as Russia’s 3M22 Zircon, have a low atmospheric-ballistic trajectory, allowing them to bypass typical anti-missile defenses. Borisov said Russia’s main focus was on developing new hypersonic weapons as well as improving the efficiency, range, and accuracy of existing platforms like the Kh-47M2 “Kinzhal” missile. “There is nothing like Kinzhal. It flies at a speed exceeding the speed of sound by more than 10 times, and at the same time maneuvering along the entire trajectory of its flight, is impossible to be intercepted by air defense systems,” Borisov said.

According to TASS data, NPO Mashinostroeniya is serial-producing Tsirkon hypersonic missiles. At the same time, the enterprise is working on extending the missile’s operational range. A TASS source reported in May 2022 that the defense manufacturer was also developing a new coastal defense system with the Tsirkon missile. Being twice as heavy and almost eleven times as fast as Tomahawk, the Zircon has more than 242 times the on-cruise kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile (equal to 2,150 kg TNT explosive energy). Its 8-9 mach speed means that it cannot be intercepted by existing missile defense systems and its precision makes it lethal to large targets such as an aircraft carrier and other navel vassals.