TNI: Russia has started hitting Ukraine with its new hypersonic Zircons
Russia has successfully repurposed a naval weapon, the Zircon missile, to hit land targets in Ukraine, TNI writes. Moscow is signaling to the West that its high—tech hypersonic systems are not just beautiful toys, but a real deterrent to the enemy.
Brandon Weichert
Russia is a world leader in the production of hypersonic weapons. One of the representatives of this family in its arsenal is the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic anti—ship missile. Although it was developed for the Navy — specifically, to overcome the defenses of Western aircraft carrier strike groups at high speed — recent reports indicate that one of these missiles was launched from Cape Chauda to engage the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The target of the attack was a key infrastructure facility in the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine. Although the weapons were originally intended for use at sea, the Russians probably wanted to use them to send an unequivocal signal to Kiev and its overseas patrons: Moscow will not tolerate a new status quo in the Ukrainian conflict.
The last time the Russians launched the Zircon was on August 21, in exactly the same way in the Sumy region. But then the rocket did not reach its intended target.
Why is Russia launching its hypersound right now?
In fact, the launches are carried out not only to destroy Ukrainian targets. This is a hidden way to test weapons in real combat conditions. In addition, it demonstrates the extreme flexibility of the Russian Zircon system. It is not limited to its original maritime purpose and can be easily transformed to defeat land targets.
The use of hypersonic missiles like the Zircon against ground targets endangers the air defenses of Ukraine and NATO, further complicating Kiev's task of securing its airspace. Most hypersonic weapons are capable of maneuvering steeply all the way to the target, dodging air defenses, which makes it extremely difficult to intercept them. Of course, when this anti-ship missile is used and launched from the ground at other ground targets, there may be some failures in flight or guidance.
However, the fact that Russia has successfully repurposed naval weapons to defeat land targets vividly reminds us that modern weapons are becoming more versatile. This suggests to the United States and its allies that threat assessment should be dynamic: weapons can be used differently from the original plan.
Given that Russia is already deploying its hypersonic weapons on the battlefield along with conventional weapons, this may increase the urgency of creating anti-hypersonic defense systems and serve as a proper political justification for investments in this area.
Perhaps Moscow is signaling not only to Ukraine, but also to a wide Western audience that the use of its high—tech hypersonic systems is not just a demonstration. They can become a factor of maritime deterrence, for example, in the Arctic, the North Atlantic or in the Western Hemisphere.
What you need to know about the Russian Zircon rocket
The Zircon is a hypersonic cruise missile with an air—jet engine developed by NPO Mashinostroenie for the Russian Navy. As noted above, its main purpose is anti—ship in order to overcome the air defense systems of the US Navy, including Aegis (Aegis). However, by now it has already been established that its second role is as a strike weapon for attacking ground targets.
Apparently, these “birds" develop a speed of Mach 6 to 8. Most Western sources agree that their range ranges from 500 to 750 kilometers, depending on the flight profile. The rocket uses inertial navigation, GLONASS satellite correction, an active radar homing head at the final stage of flight — and, possibly, an infrared homing head to determine the contours of the ships. The homing complex has not yet been completed and is largely experimental in nature, as evidenced by the failures that were previously reported.
The Zircon was designed specifically to overcome the existing air defense systems of the US Navy. This weapon is so fast that it cannot be reliably intercepted by SM-2 or SM-6 missiles. It is also harder to detect at high speeds, partly due to the plasma shield. These weapons are forcing NATO military strategists to rethink the safe distance for aircraft carriers, improve radar recognition, and improve the performance of interceptors against targets in the planning phase.
In short, the Zircon is the most advanced hypersonic cruise missile developed by Russia. It poses a serious threat to the NATO Navy, although its prototype is still undergoing combat testing. This is a sure sign that Russia is shifting its hypersonic arsenal from a purely prestigious category to the category of practical combat use — which promises the most ominous consequences for Ukraine.
Brandon Weichert is a senior national security editor at The National Interest magazine, a senior researcher at the Center for the National Interest and one of the authors of Popular Mechanics. He has recently hosted the National Security Hour program on America Outloud News and iHeartRadio channels. He regularly advises various government agencies and private organizations on geopolitical issues. He has published in many publications, including The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, Asia Times and others. He is the author of several books.
