In 2021, ships and submarines of the Northern Fleet conducted at least 12 successful tests of 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missiles. In total, more than 70 tests of the latest weapons, including Dagger missile systems, took place.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the crew of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate successfully fired about 10 rounds of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. The targets for the new weapons were surface and ground objects, which were successfully hit. During one of these tests, the 3M22 missile accurately hit a sea target from a distance of 450 kilometers. The speed of the rocket at the same time was more than Mach 8.
Earlier it was reported that the carrier of the latest hypersonic missile system will also be the frigate Admiral Golovko, which carries 16 vertical launchers UKSK 3S14. They are universal and also suitable for launching not only Zircons, but also Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles.
In addition, the crew of the lead nuclear submarine Severodvinsk worked out two test firings with Zircon. It is assumed that the new missile will enter service in 2022.
Earlier, the former chief of the General Staff of the Russian Navy, Viktor Kravchenko, said that no fleet in the world has such hypersonic weapons and means of protection against it yet.
"There is no complex that could detect and intercept this missile at such a speed," the admiral believes.
Nikolay Grishchenko
