24.11.2023

"All US aircraft carriers are at risk": the foreign press assessed the rearmament of the Russian Navy with Zircon missiles

Sections: Missile and artillery, Sea, Status and prospects, New development, Global safety

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Image source: topwar.ru

In his recent speech, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called on the shipyards to promote the rearmament of the fleet with new missiles capable of effectively hitting aircraft carriers and ship groups attached to them.

American AUGS are a key condition for maintaining US hegemony, and Russia seems to have taken note of this. But the task facing the Russian Federation is not trivial

- indicated in the EurAsian Times edition.

As noted, Russian missiles on the way to AUG will have to overcome echeloned air defense. The aircraft carrier is equipped with anti-aircraft systems of all ranges (short, medium and long range), and the ships accompanying it will contribute to the overall defense. The airspace around AUG is monitored around the clock by AWACS aircraft.

Subsonic cruise missiles, such as the Kalibr, do not pose a threat to an aircraft carrier. They are easy to detect and destroy long before they get close to AUG, even in the case of a massive attack

- according to the foreign press.

According to the author, only one system designed to sink American aircraft carriers is currently deployed on the ships of the Russian Navy - this is the P-700 Granit missile: A 7-ton RCC with a 750-kg warhead with a capacity of 500 kt (which can be equipped with nuclear weapons). It is able to reach speeds of up to Mach 1.6 at low altitude and over 2.5 at high altitude. The maximum range is 625 km.

One hit of the Granite, even with a conventional warhead, is likely to disable the aircraft carrier

- the author believes.

Image source: topwar.ru

PKR "Granit"

According to him, only the nuclear cruisers "Peter the Great" and "Admiral Nakhimov" are armed with this RCC, the location of which the US Navy is able to constantly monitor. Therefore, as he believes, they have no chance of approaching the AUG at the launch range of the "Granite".

The Russian P-800 Onyx missile system has supersonic speed and maneuverability, allowing it to overcome the defense of AUG, and they are installed on many ships and submarines. However, their 300-kg warhead is much smaller than the 750-kg Granit warhead.

The probability that one or even several Onyx strikes will be able to sink an aircraft carrier is minimal

- the author believes.

According to him, the only equivalent of "Granite" as the main means of destroying AUG can only be the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, which is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and hitting targets at ranges up to 500-1000 km.

Hypersonic "Zircon" will be almost impossible to intercept by the air defense of the carrier group. Its warhead weighing 300-400 kg due to its high flight speed will be as destructive as that of the Granite, and will probably disable the aircraft carrier

- indicated in the publication.

According to the author, the carriers of the "Zircon" will be all future frigates of the project 22350, corvettes of the class "Gremyashchy" (equipped during their construction UKSK), anti-submarine destroyers of the project "Udaloy", submarines of the type "Ash" and modernized submarines "Antey". Hypersonic air-launched cruise missiles should also be taken into account.

In the face of such a threat, all US aircraft carriers are at risk

- the author concludes, giving an assessment of the new Russian PKR.

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