MOSCOW, May 17-RIA Novosti. Russia is completing tests of the latest hypersonic missile "Zircon", which will be used both on submarines and on ships, said Vladimir Pospelov, a member of the board of the Military-Industrial Commission and a member of the Marine Board under the Russian government, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"The tests are being conducted as planned and are at the final stage," he said.
Pospelov said that the industry faces the task of reaching readiness for mass production in the near future.
"The missile will be unified and can be used both on submarines and on surface ships, since universal launchers are used," he said.
The "Zircon" 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 rocket reaches about nine speeds of sound (about 2.65 kilometers per second at an altitude of 20 kilometers, or more than 10 thousand kilometers per hour). The maximum range of the missile is stated to be one thousand kilometers. The " Zircon "is supposed to be able to hit both surface and ground targets with the same efficiency.
In 2020, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the tests took place on the frigate of the project 22350 "Admiral Gorshkov". The ship performed three missile launches, two at sea targets and one at a ground target.
The first launch of the Zircon in 2021, as sources in the defense industry told RIA Novosti, is planned for the summer months, with this firing, state tests of the missile system will begin. The tests are planned to be completed in the same year, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in turn. President Vladimir Putin also mentioned that the " Zircon "is planned to be put on combat duty "in the near future."
It is assumed that the "Zircons" will be armed with the missile cruiser "Admiral Nakhimov", which is currently under modernization, the submarine "Irkutsk", which during the modernization will be brought to the level of 949AM (based on the project 949A" Antey "- an analogue of" Kursk"), the frigates of the project 22350 and the latest multi-purpose submarines of the project 885M"Ash-M".
In addition to the naval version, Vladimir Putin mentioned the development of a land-based" Zircon".
