| 3M22, Tsirkon (Zircon) 3M22, Циркон | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Anti-ship missile Hypersonic cruise missile Submarine-launched cruise missile Land-attack missile |
| Place of origin | Russia |
| Service history | |
| In service | In service (January 4, 2023)[1] |
| Used by | Russian Navy |
| Wars | Russian Invasion of Ukraine |
| Production history | |
| Designer | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
| Manufacturer | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
| Unit cost | Unknown, unofficially estimated up to US$10 million[2] |
| Produced | 2021–present |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 9 m (30 ft) |
| Diameter | 60 cm (24 in) |
| Effective firing range | 1,000 km (620 mi) |
| Maximum firing range | 1,000 km (620 mi) |
| Engine | Scramjet |
| Propellant | Liquid -Detsilin-M (Russian:Децилин-М) |
Operational range | >1,000 km (540 nmi; 620 mi)[3][4][5] |
| Flight altitude | 28 km (92,000 ft)[6] |
| Maximum speed | Mach 9 (6,900 mph; 11,000 km/h; 3.1 km/s) (Max)[7] |
Launch platform | Submarine,surface ship, land-based (in development)[8] |
The3M22 Zircon, also spelledTsirkon (Russian:Циркон,NATO reporting name:SS-N-33),[9] is a Russianscramjet-powered,nuclear-capablehypersonic cruise missile. Produced byNPO Mashinostroyeniya for theRussian Navy, the missile utilizes the3S-14 launch platforms onfrigates andsubmarines.[10][11] The missile has a reported top speed ofMach 9.[12] The weapon was first used during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[13]
Tsirkon is reported to represent a further development of the Hypersonic Experimental Flying Vehicle (ru.GELA / HELA) developed byNPO Mashinostroyeniya.[14]
Zircon was again test-fired on June 3, 2017, almost a year earlier than had been announced by Russian officials.[15] Another flight test reportedly occurred on December 10, 2018 during which the missile demonstrated that it could attain a speed of Mach 8.[16]
On February 20, 2019, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin said that the missile can accelerate up toMach 9 and destroy both sea and land targets within 1,000 km (540 nmi; 620 mi).[7][17] By the year's end, on December 24, 2019, Putin stated thatZircon's land-based version was in development.[8]
According to the commander in chief of the Russian NavyNikolai Yevmenov, as of January 2020, 3M22 was still in testing phase and despite the overall positive evaluation of the test program, still suffered from teething problems. Modernized frigates are expected to be the first platform to receive the hypersonic missile, and the tests are to be continued in parallel with the Navy's armament with the Kalibr cruise missile. Yevmenov further statedZircon is expected to enter service "in the coming years".[18] In early January 2020,Zircon was first test-launched from the frigateAdmiral Gorshkov in theBarents Sea, and reportedely hit a ground target in theNorthern Urals, exceeding the distance of 500 km.[citation needed]
On October 7, 2020, the Russian Chief of General Staff,Valery Gerasimov, stated aTsirkon was launched fromAdmiral Gorshkov in theWhite Sea and successfully hit a sea target in the Barents Sea 450 km (280 mi) away, reportedly reaching a speed of "more than Mach 8" and altitude of 28 km (17 mi).[6]
On November 26, 2020, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the successful test of a missile launched fromAdmiral Gorshkov in the White Sea, hitting a naval target 450 km away in the Barents Sea.[19]
On December 11, 2020, theMinistry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the successful test of a missile launched fromAdmiral Gorshkov in the White Sea, hitting a ground target 350 km away in theArkhangelsk Region.[citation needed]
On July 19, 2021, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the successful test of a missile launched fromAdmiral Gorshkov in the White Sea, hitting a ground target 350 km away on the coast of the Barents Sea.[citation needed] The flight speed reached nearly Mach 7.[citation needed]
The flight tests of the missile from a coastal mount and a surface ship carrier were reportedly completed as of late September 2021 with over 10 launches performed.[citation needed]
On October 4, 2021, the Ministry of Defence of Russia announced the successful test of a missile launched from a nuclear submarine for the first time from a surfaced position. The Defense Ministry, which tested firing the Zircon missile from a warship in July, said that the nuclear submarineSeverodvinsk fired the missile while deployed in the Barents Sea and had hit its chosen target.Low-quality video footage released by the ministry showed the missile shooting upwards from a submarine, its glare lighting up the night sky and illuminating the water's surface.[20] A second submerged launch from a depth of 40 m was reported later the same day.The next day it was reported that the missile's trials from the submarine have been completed.[citation needed]
A Tsirkon hypersonic missile test-launched from the Northern Fleet's frigateAdmiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov struck a naval target in the White Sea with a direct hit, Russia's Defense Ministry reported on November 18, 2021.[21]
The crew of the Northern Fleet frigateAdmiral Gorshkov, as part of the completion of the cycle of tests of hypersonic missile weapons, fired another Zircon missile at a sea target on November 29 and another one at a coastal target on December 16.[22] The Tsirkon hypersonic system was salvo-launched on December 24, 2021, and again launched on February 19, 2022.[citation needed] On May 28, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video and news of a new test-launch where a Zircon missile hit a sea target at a distance of 1,000 km (620 mi) in the White Sea.[23] The program of state trials was reportedly completed with that launch.[citation needed]
On July 31, 2022, speaking inSt Petersburg on Russia's Naval Day, President Vladimir Putin announced that theBlack Sea Fleet would be equipped with Zircon anti-ship hypersonic cruise missiles "in the coming months".[24]
On December 23, 2022, Defense MinisterSergey Shoigu announced the reception by theAdmiral Gorshkov frigate of a batch of Zircon missiles.[citation needed]
According to classified documents, Russia ordered 80 missiles annually for 2024-2026.[25]
3M22 was believed in 2017 to be a maneuvering, winged hypersoniccruise missile with a lift-generating center body. A booster stage with solid-fuel engines accelerates it to supersonic speeds, after which ascramjet motor with liquid-fuel (Detsilin [ru]) (JP-10jet fuel equivalent) in the second stage accelerates it tohypersonic speeds.[11][26]
The missile'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;[27] average range is around 400–450 km (250–280 mi; 220–240 nmi).[28] According to Russian media (2017), the longest possible range is 540 nmi (620 mi; 1,000 km) and for this purpose a new fuel was created.[29][30][31] Some internet sources even claim the range of missile can reach 1,000 - 2,000 km, depending on the type of target.[4] Russian media sources claim that its speed and precision would make it more lethal to large targets such asaircraft carriers.[32][33]
Tsirkon can travel at a speed of Mach 8 (6,100 mph; 9,800 km/h; 2.7 km/s). This has led to concerns[neutrality isdisputed] that it could stand a higher chance at penetrating existing naval defence systems.[34] Because it flies at hypersonic speeds within the atmosphere, air pressure in front of it forms aplasma cloud as it moves, absorbing radio waves and making it more difficult to detect byradar systems (plasma stealth) during its hypersonic cruise phase.[35] However, this also blinds anyradar orIR seeker on the missile, meaning it has likely slowed to a speed short of Mach 5-6 in its terminal phase to strike a moving target (such as a warship); as well as generates an enormous IR signature, making it extremely easy to detect and track byEO/IR sensors.[36] According to theRoyal United Services Institute,kinetic energy is the single best predictor of lethality against large targets (more so than warhead size), and thus the high speed of missile would seem to make it an optimal vector of attack against larger vessels.[37]
3M22exchanges information in flight and can be controlled by commands if necessary.[38]
A ground-launched version of Zircon, based on a wheeled carrier similar to theSS-C-5, was developed after the naval version.[8]
In January 2023 3M22 was first deployed on theAdmiral Gorshkov-classfrigates.[citation needed]
As of 2023,Admiral Nakhimov is being modernised in order to start sea trials. The ship'sP-700 Granitanti-ship missiles are being replaced with theZS14 universalvertical launch system (VLS) tubes capable of carrying theOniks,Kalibr and Zircon anti-ship cruise missiles; the vessel is to be equipped with 72 such missiles. The other active Kirov-class ship,Pyotr Velikiy, will undergo a similar procedure.[39] After completion of their refit, the ships could carry 40–80 anti-ship cruise missiles of different types.[40]
Other platforms which will receive Tsirkons areGremyashchiy-classcorvettes (fitted withUKSK VLS tubes during their construction),Yasen-classsubmarines, modernisedUdaloy-classdestroyers, and modernisedOscar-classsubmarines (Project 949AM).[41]
Zircon appears to have been used in a land-attack role during theRussian invasion of Ukraine. In particular it was used in the attack on Ukraine on 7 February 2024.[42][13][43] During his 29 February 2024 address to theFederal Assembly, Vladimir Putin confirmed that Zircon hypersonic missile has been used during the conflict.[citation needed]
On 25 March 2024, Russia used two Zircon hypersonic missiles to strike decision making centres in the centre ofKyiv.[44] The launches were land-based, from one of two sites inCrimea: theObject 100 missile base or a Crimea-basedK-300P Bastion-PTransporter erector launcher.[45] According to Russian state media sources, both missiles hit their intended targets which were reported to be aSBU quarter andZhuliany airport.[46][47] Ukrainian sources claim both missiles were successfully intercepted by air defense systems and photographic evidence of the purported remains of a Zircon missile was later released by Ukrainian media.[48] Major Illia Yevlash, a spokesman for theArmed Forces of Ukraine, claimed thatPatriot andSAMP/T systems are capable of destroying the Zircon in the terminal phase when the missile is expected to slow to speeds around Mach 4.5;[49][50] which Western defense analysts such as former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe agree is likely correct based on analysis of similar behavior from theKinzhal missile.[51]
The CEO of the joint Indo-Russian BrahMos programme,Atul Rane, stated in 2022 that a futureBrahMos-II missile for India will likely have similar characteristics to the Zircon.[52][53] According to a report published on 1 April 2023, India has requested Russia to transfer the technology of 3M22.[54][55]
