MOSCOW, February 26-RIA Novosti. The multi-purpose nuclear submarine of the project 885 (code "Ash") "Severodvinsk" this year will be the first of the Russian submarines to fire hypersonic missiles "Zircon", including from under water, a source in the military-industrial complex told RIA Novosti.
He added that earlier "Zircon" firing was carried out from submerged stands simulating launches from submarines from an underwater position. The source did not specify the timing of the underwater tests and the timing of the planned firing from the Severodvinsk .
As Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko said at the end of January during a Single day of military acceptance in the military department, state tests of the missile system with the hypersonic missile "Zircon" will be completed this year after the stage of testing weapons from underwater carriers. Then, from 2022, Krivoruchko noted, serial deliveries of Zircon missiles should begin.
In 2020, three launches of Zircon missiles were carried out from the Northern Fleet frigate Admiral Gorshkov. In particular, the ship delivered two successful strikes with hypersonic missiles at sea targets and one at a ground target located at a military test site. According to sources of RIA Novosti, this year the frigate for the first time has to perform a salvo of at least two missiles "Zircon", this assumes that the missiles will take off from the ship with an interval of only a few seconds.
The Russian Zircon rocket is the world's first hypersonic cruise missile capable of long-term aerodynamic flight with maneuvering in dense layers of the atmosphere using its own engine thrust throughout the entire route. The maximum speed of the ammunition reaches about nine speeds of sound, and the maximum firing range is up to 1 thousand kilometers. "Zircon" can hit both surface and ground targets with the same efficiency.
The only submarine of the Yasen project, Severodvinsk, was laid down in 1993, and the ship was launched in 2010. In June 2014, the submarine became part of the Northern Fleet. "Severodvinsk" has an underwater displacement of 13.8 thousand tons, the maximum speed of the underwater course is 31 knots, the crew of the cruiser consists of 90 people. The main armament of the submarine is a missile system with 32 launchers for Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles. After the completion of the tests of the "Zircon" complex, the submarine, accordingly, will be able to carry up to 32 hypersonic missiles on board.
The next submarine of this type - "Kazan" - was built according to the modernized project 885M ("Ash-M") and became the lead in a new series of submarines.
