Tsirkon hypersonic missile
| 3M22 Zircon | |
|---|---|
| Type |
Anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile Air-launched cruise missile Submarine-launched cruise missile Land-attack missile |
| Place of origin | Russia |
| Service history | |
| In service | In production |
| Used by | Russia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
| Produced | 2012–present |
| Specifications | |
|
|
|
| Engine | Scramjet |
| Fuel capacity | 600 miles (970 km) |
|
Operational
range |
1,000 km (540 nmi; 620 mi) |
| Speed | Mach 8 (6,090 mph; 9,800 km/h; 2,722.3 m/s) |
|
Launch
platform |
Aircraft, submarines, ships, and ground based SAM systems |
3M22 Zircon also sometimes spelled 3M22 Tsirkon (Russian: Циркон, NATO reporting name: SS-N-33) is a maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile developed in Russia. Its latest successful launch was on June 3, 2017, almost a year earlier than had been announced by Russian officials.
The Zircon is believed to be a maneuvering, winged hypersonic cruise missile with a lift-generating center body. A booster stage with solid-fuel engines accelerates it to supersonic speeds, after which a scramjet motor in the second stage accelerates it to hypersonic speeds. The missile represents a further development of the HELA (Hypersonic Experimental Flying Vehicle) developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya that was on display at the MAKS Air Show in 1995.
The Zircon's range is estimated to be 135 to 270 nautical miles (155 to 311 mi; 250 to 500 km) at low level, and up to 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) in a semi-ballistic trajectory; average range is around 400–450 km (250–280 mi; 220–240 nmi). According to state-owned media, the longest range is 540 nmi (620 mi; 1,000 km) and for this purpose a new fuel was created.
The Zircon can travel at speed of Mach 5–Mach 6 (3,806–4,567 mph; 6,125–7,350 km/h; 1,701.5–2,041.7 m/s). Such high speed have led to concerns that it could penetrate existing naval defense systems; the Royal Navy's Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile is only capable of intercepting targets flying up to Mach 3.
The missile will be incorporated into the Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov in 2018, and the Pyotr Velikiy in 2022. The ships will have their P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles replaced with 3S-14 vertical launch systems capable of holding P-800 Oniks and Kalibr missiles as well as the Zircon; each battlecruiser will be equipped with 72 such missiles. After the upgrade, the battlecruisers can carry 40–80 anti-ship missiles of different types.Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates will have possibility to carry 8 while the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates 16 Zircon missiles. The missile will be also used by undersea and aerial platforms, including the Lider-class destroyer, Husky-class submarine, Yasen-class submarine and Tu-160M2 Blackjack and Tupolev PAK DA strategic bombers.
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Wikipedia