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Russian Navy to accept latest Tsirkon hypersonic missile for service in 2023 — source

The new missile is set to be deployed on the warships and submarines already built or under construction for carrying Kalibr cruise missiles

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. The Russian Navy expects to accept the latest Tsirkon hypersonic missile for service and deploy it on warships and submarines from 2023, a source in the defense industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"The state trials of the Tsirkon conducted from the basic sea carriers are planned to be completed in 2022 and from 2023 the missile will be accepted for service and put on combat duty," the source said.

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Putin: Work on advanced Tsirkon hypersonic missile proceeding on schedule

The Russian Navy expects to arm all the new and modernized surface ships and nuclear-powered submarines, including Project 22350 and Project 22350M frigates, the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Veliky, Yasen-class submarines and Lider-class nuclear-powered destroyers slated for construction with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, the source said.

TASS does not yet have an official confirmation of this information.

As other sources in the Russian defense industry earlier told TASS, a series of trials of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile has been conducted from a coastal stand to date and in late 2019 the missile is expected to be tested from one of its basic sea carriers - the Project 22350 frigate Admiral Gorshkov. In 2020, the missile’s trials from the Project 885M multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Kazan will begin.

In his State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on February 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Tsirkon missile was capable of developing a speed of Mach 9 and its range capability could exceed 1,000 km. The Russian leader also said that the Tsirkon could strike both naval and ground targets. The new missile was set to be deployed on the warships and submarines already built or under construction for carrying Kalibr cruise missiles, Putin added.

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