Russia plans to begin trials of Zircon hypersonic missile in August


According to information published by Tass on July 18, 2021, state trials of Russia’s newest Zircon hypersonic missile from a surface carrier will begin in August 2021, a source in the military-industrial complex told.
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Russian Vyborg Shipyard laid the Purga ice class coastguard ship of project 23550 925 001 Artist rendering of the Zircon hypersonic missile (Picture source: Russian MOD)


The Severodvinsk will perform the first launch from a surface position, firing at a surface target. Another source told that Admiral Gorshkov will perform 4 launches. NPO Mashinostroyeniya, the developer of the missile, did not comment on this information.

Earlier, a source told that flight trials of the Zircon from Admiral Gorshkov have ended successfully.

On July 10, a source told that Project 22350 frigate Admiral Golovko will become the first carrier of these hypersonic missiles.

The K-560 Severodvinsk SSGN is the lead warship of project 885. It was laid in 1993 and floated on June 15, 2010. The Navy flag was hoisted on June 17, 2014.

Nuclear-powered cruise missile fourth-generation submarines of projects 885 and 885M can submerge to a depth of 600 meters and develop an underwater speed of 30 knots. The submarines are armed with vertically-launched cruise missiles Onix and Kalibr, as well as 533mm torpedo launchers.

The Zircon is a Russian-made hypersonic missile designed to be launched by a ship and able to travel at speeds of between Mach 6 and Mach 8. The missile is reportedly capable of striking both ground and naval targets. It has a range of between approximately 250 (400 km) and 600 miles (965 km) and can be fired from the vertical launch systems mounted on cruisers Admiral Nakhimov and Pyotr Veliky, Project 20380 corvettes, Project 22350 frigates, and Project 885 Yasen-class submarines, among other platforms.