Zircon missiles and Russia’s super quiet Yasen class submarines could be a significant combination, but questions remain about the weapon’s maturity.
Launched from a frigate in the White Sea, the weapon was claimed to have exceeded a speed of Mach 8 before hitting a naval target.
The Russian Navy’s top officer has said that the shadowy 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is suffering from “childhood diseases” in its development, which will need to be resolved before it enters service some time in the coming years. This comes as the first at-sea test of the weapon has yet to take place, at least publicly, something previous reports had indicated was scheduled to occur before the end of 2019.
Russia says it is upgrading a destroyer and a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine assigned to its Pacific Fleet so that they will be able to launch the shadowy 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, also written Tsirkon, when that weapon becomes available. This comes a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that a new corvette due to enter service soon would also eventually receive this capability, as the Kremlin’s public plans to field these missiles expand beyond the Kirov-class battlecruisers, which previous reports have indicated will be the first operational launch platforms.
