Get To Know The Zircon: Hypersonic Cruise Missile To Be Delivered To The Russian Navy

Zircon missiles will strengthen the Russian naval fleet. (NavalPost)

JAKARTA – During the celebration of the Russian Navy Day which was held in Saint Petersburg on July 31 yesterday, President Vladimir Putin said the Russian navy would receive a new missile called Zircon. It is a long-range cruise missile that will strengthen the country's Navy.

President Putin said the missiles would be delivered in the coming months. However, there is no more detailed information about the new weapon. Then, what is Zircon which is the new weapon of the Russian Navy?

3M22 Zircon

The Zircon, which was introduced under the name 3M22 Zircon, is a new weapon in the form of a hypersonic anti-ship missile that can be released from the sea. Zircon was first launched by President Putin in 2019.

However, the missile was only introduced to the navy in January 2020. At that time, the Zircon was fired from a warship in the northern Barents Sea and successfully hit a target at a training ground on land, about 500 kilometers away.

Zircon Ability

Regarding its capabilities, the missile is claimed to be able to travel at hypersonic speeds of up to Mach 9 while maintaining its maneuverability. Such speed makes the missile effectively impossible to intercept – and, likely, even detect – by current anti-aircraft defenses, which are designed to deal with much slower projectiles.

With this capability, Zircon is claimed to be able to attack targets at sea and land. Therefore, it is a weapon that will strengthen the combat power of the Russian Navy fleet.

One of the ships that will carry this hypersonic cruise missile is the Admiral Gorshkov ship. Zircon will not only strengthen the existing ships on the surface of the Russian sea, but will also equip the country's submarines. The first test launch of the Zircon submarine was carried out by the nuclear-powered Severodvinsk in October 2021.

The Zircon missile is reportedly compatible with standard tube launchers used to fire other munitions used by the Russian armed forces, such as the Kalibr cruiser or the Oniks anti-ship. In theory, such compatibility would allow the Zircon to be installed on any of the Russian Navy's cruise missile carriers.

Zircon . Missile Range

Although there is no official announcement about the range of the hypersonic missile from the Russian government, the commander of Admiral Gorshkov, Igor Krokhmal, has stated that the maximum distance that the Zircon can cover is around 1,500 kilometers. This information was conveyed by Krokhmal in February.