The National Interest explained why launching a hypersonic Zircon missile from a submarine could be a breakthrough. No country in the world has ever carried out an underwater launch of such missiles.
The publication The National Interest evaluated the tests of the "Zircon" from the submarine. Special attention of the author Chris Osborne was attracted not by the first surface launch, but by the second, from an underwater position, scheduled for November.
Russia may become the first country in the world to launch a hypersonic missile from under water. This will open up new perspectives and additional tactical opportunities for attacks from the sea.
"Submarines can launch high-speed cruise missiles, such as American Tomahawks or Russian kAlibras, which fly at a speed of more than 800 kilometers per hour," the observer explains. - "Shock weapons capable of moving at hypersonic speeds represent a completely new dimension of surprise attack. A sea-based weapon capable of moving at five times the speed of sound is much more likely to be able to overcome enemy air defense systems or evade them."
In addition, the expert drew attention to the recent statement by the scientific director of the Central Research Institute "Electropribor" Vladimir Peshekhonov that Russian submarines are superior to American competitors in a number of parameters.
"The reference to optical fiber and periscope technology seems significant, since the US Navy Block III Virginia class attack submarines and the Russian Navy Columbia class nuclear submarines are equipped with fiber-optic communication. This is a network breakthrough that allows periscope surveillance from a number of locations throughout the submarine, without the need to conduct surveillance directly under the top of the vessel at the surface," the author writes.
Oleg Koryakin