“Tsirkon”, the Russian hypersonic missile capable of flying nine times faster than sound

In another show of military force, Russia successfully launched its new “Tsirkon” hypersonic cruise missile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

According to the press release, the missile was fired by the warship Admiral Gorshov from the White Sea at a target off the Barents Sea.

“El misil ‘Tsirkon’ hit squarely on the target at a distance of more than 350 kilometers, ”said Defensa, who he did not say when the trial took place.

During the test, the statement added, “the tactical-technical characteristics of the ‘Tsirkon’ missile were confirmed. The flight speed was close to Mach 7” (approx. 8,500 kilometers per hour).

Russia plans to equip both surface ships and submarines with these hypersonic cruise missiles.

The “Tsirkon” is, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, capable of flying to nine times faster than sound (Mach 9) has a range of over a thousand kilometers and can hit land and sea targets.

The Tsirkon project

The Tsirkon project is not new. Russia had already announced at the beginning of the year its intention to mass-produce the TSIRKON missile and its supply to the Armed Forces in 2022.

And in October, on President Putin’s birthday, another launch test was carried out. The president celebrated it as a “big episode” for the country.

“Equipping our armed forces – army and navy – with the most recent and truly unmatched weapon systems will certainly guarantee the defense capacity of our country in the long term, ”Putin said on this occasion.

This cruise missile, with a range of over 1000 km, was originally designed for use from supersonic bombers such as the Tupolev TU-160.

But now it has been successfully tested to be fired from naval platforms, both surface and underwater. It is also expected to have a version for launch from land-based platforms in the future.

Testing

In 2020, the Russian Navy carried out several tests of firing Tsirkon hypersonic missiles from submarines and warships. In November 2020, the Russian Navy’s Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov frigate also successfully tested a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from the White Sea against a target in the Barents Sea.

The Tsirkon hypersonic missile can be fired by warships and submarines from projects 885 and 885M. Coastal Bastion launchers may also carry new hypersonic missiles, site data shows marinerecognition.com.

The Tsirkon hypersonic missile, also called 3M-22 It was designed by NPO-machinostroeniya in Reutov in the Moscow region. It is part of the 3K-22 complex (Tsirkon code) which NATO reports as SS-N-33.

The missile can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 9 and an altitude of 30-40 km, where range and speed increase as air resistance decreases.

Nuclear head?

According to Russian military sources, the missile has a payload of 300-400 kg and a length of 8-10 meters. The missile will have a conventional warhead, but speculation abounds that it could carry a nuclear warhead in the future.

The Tsirkon is a hypersonic cruise missile with two steps. The first stage uses a solid fuel rocket to lift and accelerate the missile, and the second stage uses a Scramjet engine move the missile at hypersonic speeds within a range likely limited by engine life.

The Tsirkon is designed to use the 3S-14 Russia Universal Vertical Launch System, the same maritime launcher as the Onyx and Kalibr missiles, to make it easy and affordable to deploy to ships and submarines. According to military sources, the Tsirkon missile will have a light version that will be deployed in the air, probably of a Tupolev jet Tu-160 / M / M2.

Source: with information from AP, EFE and navyrecognition.com

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