Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu spoke about the results of the tests of the latest hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon", quoting a phrase from the Soviet TV series.
"I will tell you this: the accuracy that we have tested on tests for naval targets, it leaves no chance, in general, does not leave. As well as the"Dagger". That is, we have the entire arsenal. We can do it from the sea, we can do it from the air. As in that movie: we can use matches, we can use salt, we can use what they poison mothswith," Shoigu said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.
The minister quoted a phrase from the film "Born by the Revolution" directed by Grigory Kohan about the struggle of the criminal investigation department with the criminal world in the 1920s in Russia.
He clarified in response to a journalist's question that the Zircon missile has a good range and that its tests were successful.
In addition, Shoigu spoke about other new weapons that will be delivered to the Russian army this year. So, in 2021, the Navy will receive four submarines, three of them nuclear-powered and one diesel-electric, and six combat surface ships. The strategic Missile Forces will receive 15 intercontinental ballistic missiles. According to the minister, this year the Strategic Missile Forces "will reach 86% of modernity".
In addition, the Russian Armed Forces will receive serial multifunctional fighters of the fifth generation Su-57, Bastion coastal complexes and anti-aircraft missile systems, modernized Armata and T-90M tanks, 18 reconnaissance and strike drones of medium and heavy class.
Russian hypersonic weapons were presented in 2018. It includes the Avangard, Dagger and Zircon missiles.
"Zircon", or 3M22, is being developed by NPO Mashinostroeniya. It is universal and is designed for both surface and underwater launch. The missile is supposed to be equipped with nuclear submarines and surface ships of the far sea zone. The main difference between the missile is its significantly higher flight speed compared to other Russian and foreign anti-ship missiles.
On July 19, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" successfully fired a hypersonic missile "Zircon" at a ground target. It was emphasized that during the tests, the rocket confirmed its tactical and technical characteristics, the flight speed was Mach 7 (this is more than 8.5 thousand km/h), the range was over 350 km.
On July 17, the American magazine National Interest wrote that the United States is experiencing serious difficulties in trying to catch up with Russia and China in developing hypersonic weapons. As the US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Research and Development Michael Griffin noted, the United States "does not have systems that could pose a threat to China and Russia to the proper extent." In addition, he stated the lack of means to protect against Russian weapons.