MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. A recent video released by the Russian Defense Ministry has given an up-close look at the design of the hypersonic anti-ship missile Tsirkon (Zircon). Previously, all launches were shown only from a considerable distance. The event drew the attention of foreign online media outlets, whose verdict was unanimous: the Russian Armed Forces now have a versatile weapon which can be deployed from different platforms.
The launch in question took place on December 3, 2024, during joint exercises by the Russian Navy and Aerospace Forces in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Defense Ministry said in a news release that the hypersonic Tsirkon missiles were launched by the frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko, which were operating as part of a task force.
The cameras showed launches from different angles, letting experts draw some conclusions about the Tsirkon's design.
What the experts saw
First of all, the specialists took note of the missile’s nose, which was covered, according to one account, by a "cylindrical casing," the purpose of which "is anyone’s guess." According to another, it is a special unit that stabilizes the missile immediately after its launch and is jettisoned afterwards.
The latter version, in particular, is confirmed by video footage of one of the launches from afar. On these video clips it was well seen that the fore section of the missile, after the vertical aligning of the projectile, detached from it, while the missile itself went up, gaining speed.
The Tsirkon’s upper stage also attracted the experts’ attention, but it was hardly possible to examine it in detail.
Experts of the Army Recognition portal believe that the Tsirkon’s propulsion system consists of two stages: a solid propellant upper stage and a direct-flow air-jet engine that maintains hypersonic speed and provides maneuverability on the main part of the flight path. The specialized portal The War Zone (TWZ) suspects that the shroud in the nose of the missile conceals a ring-shaped air intake that provides cooling for the Tsirkon's direct-flow air-jet engine.
The TWZ noted that the Tsirkon’s launch in the recent Defense Ministry video was carried out from the 3C14 vertical launch unit aboard a Project 22350 frigate, to which both The Admiral Gorshkov and The Admiral Golovko belong. The experts also compared the latest video available from the Russian Defense Ministry with previous footage published in October 2020 and May 2022, stating that all three videos probably showed the same type of missile.
Besides, they recalled the speculations that the hypersonic Tsirkon was from the same family as the supersonic cruise missile Oniks, discussed in the West back in 2020. Both missiles can be fired with the 3C14 ship-borne launcher. After scrutinizing the recent video, TWZ specialists ruled out the Tsirkon’s similarity to the experimental US X-51 Waverider missile. Images of the latter had previously been used by many media outlets to illustrate the presumed shape of the Russian missile.
Tsirkon’s development
The development of Russia’s sea-launched system armed with a hypersonic missile - the future Tsirkon - was announced back in February 2011. By 2016, as a source in the defense-industrial complex told TASS, the program had entered the flight tests stage. In the summer of 2019, Boris Obnosov, the CEO of the Tactical Missiles Corporation (Tsirkon was created by its affiliate, NPO Mashinostroyenia), announced the missile’s intensive testing.
In January 2020, the first launch from The Admiral Gorshkov frigate took place. In October 2021, the nuclear submarine Severodvinsk carried out a test launch of the Tsirkon from the Barents Sea.
On December 24, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a salvo launch of Tsirkon missiles. The tests, he said, were "successful, flawless." In a February 2024 address to the Federal Assembly, Putin said that serial production of such missiles had begun. By that time they had already been tested in the special military operation.
The Tsirkon is capable of reaching Mach 9 speeds (according to some reports, Mach 10 - TASS). The missile can hit surface and ground targets at a range of over 1,000 kilometers. The commander of The Admiral Gorshkov, Captain 1st class Igor Krokhmal, said that the range of the ship-based Tsirkon was 1,500 kilometers.
Obnosov himself pointed out in an interview that "it takes a very effective missile defense system and air defense system" to intercept such a missile. Georgy Roslyakov, the commander of The Admiral Gorshkov's missile-artillery combat unit, noted that in addition to high speeds the project also possessed stealth features.
The Washington Times cited the conclusions of a report by the US Congressional Research Service, whose experts noted that the existing US ground and space-based missile detection means were incapable of detecting and tracking the flight of hypersonic missiles.
Coastal defense system for Tsirkon and nuclear warheads
While the main carriers of the Tsirkon missiles are surface ships and submarines, there has been evidence of the development of a coastal missile defense system (CDS) for these hypersonic missiles. A TASS source close to the defense Ministry said in November 2022 that one launcher for them had already been created. It can also fire Oniks supersonic missiles.
According to Army Recognition, one of the features of the Tsirkon that is of greatest concern is its versatility. According to the portal, "the missile offers a serious strategic advantage" because it can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. It also noted that the missile can be launched from various carriers, including surface ships and coastal systems, which provides Russia with the ability to deploy and use it in various combat scenarios.