21.04.2020
Zircon speed in km/hour. In the hypersonic race, the Russian Zircon is taking the lead. Problems encountered during development
The American conservative newspaper The Washington Times reported on the testing in Russia of the newest hypersonic missile"Zircon", which, according to the author of the article, represents a "quantum leap" in the creation of "asymmetric weapons" to protect against nuclear attack. The publication's reaction seems somewhat belated.
Tests of the Zircon 3M22 hypersonic missile are underway. Specifications secret, but the existence of the rocket and some test results are not a secret. In April, Zircon exceeded the speed of sound eight times. And six years ago, the general director of the Tactical Corporation missile weapons"Boris Obnosov reported on the development of a rocket capable of developing .
According to unconfirmed reports, "Zircon" is a hypersonic modification of a supersonic anti-ship missile. cruise missile— joint Russian-Indian development. By analogy, we can assume that the radius of destruction of the Zircon is .
Be that as it may, serial production of Zircons is planned to begin in 2017. The world's first such hypersonic weapons will be received by the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers "Peter the Great" and "Admiral Nakhimov", and then by the multi-purpose nuclear-powered ones.
Our priorities
The new weapon is the fruit of sophisticated scientific and technical developments. Objects flying at speeds above 4,500 kilometers per hour are considered hypersonic, and atmospheric resistance has not been canceled. A hypersonic vehicle cannot be accelerated by a traditional jet engine; it is necessary to use a ramjet rocket with supersonic combustion.
After accelerating to hypersonic speeds, maneuverable flight in the atmosphere at high temperatures begins - the device is enveloped in a cloud of plasma, which can burn antennas and sensors. In this case, the onboard radio-electronic equipment must stably ensure course calculation and maneuvering.
The fact that engineers have largely succeeded in solving these problems is indirectly evidenced by the recent tests in India of the BrahMos Aerospace rocket of the Block-III version with a steep dive maneuver. Let us note that the technologies created within the framework of the revolutionary hypersonic project are themselves the most important “added value” and will be used not only as weapons.
© Photo: BrahMos Aerospace press service
![](https://i0.wp.com/cdn23.img.ria.ru/images/148979/54/1489795470_0:0:1632:1416_600x0_80_0_0_af6b6848bef4b1497b51569ae30972a3.jpg)
© Photo: BrahMos Aerospace press service
The Zircon is based on the harmonious concept of BrahMos (three times the speed of sound during the entire flight, reliable control, high efficiency in overcoming air defense and missile defense, enormous lethality due to kinetic energy). This concept will almost certainly be used to create a universal hypersonic missile system, unified for different carriers, missions and purposes.
The American Center for Strategic and International Studies believes that, thanks to the latest developments - a hypersonic missile, a fifth-generation stealth fighter, a promising aviation complex, anti-aircraft missile system(ZRS), The Russian Armed Forces will significantly increase their power by 2035. The Russian state weapons program includes the development and delivery of fundamentally new types of hypersonic weapons to the troops in 2018-2025.
View from the outside
Earlier, the British newspaper The Times called the Russian anti-ship missiles P-800 "Onyx" and "Zircon" 3M22 the most serious. Even supersonic Onyxes are capable of flying up to a ship almost above the crests of waves at a speed twice the speed of sound (they remain in the affected area of the ship’s air defense for several seconds). Hypersonic "Zircons" are simply elusive (invisible in a plasma cloud) for existing and promising systems Air defense-missile defense.
Carrier strike groups (CAGs) will have to stay out of their range, and the aircraft will not have enough fuel to cover this distance, that is, in the event of a confrontation with Russia, British AUGs could become useless overnight.
"Zircon" is compared with the hypersonic cruise missile X-51A Waverider being developed in the United States, but this comparison is not in favor of the American counterpart. In August 2014, a hypersonic missile X-43A was tested in Alaska - after seven seconds of flight at a speed of about 6.5 thousand kilometers per hour, the device burned up in the atmosphere. "Zircons" have never had such misfires.
And US President George W. Bush signed a directive that makes it possible to quickly global impact(Prompt Global Strike) high-precision hypersonic cruise missiles against any region of the world - within 60 minutes after the decision is made.
Meanwhile, Russia also successfully tested a hypersonic warhead for promising intercontinental missiles. The hypersonic aircraft (product 4202) took off from the Dombarovsky launch area in the Orenburg region on October 25, 2016 and reached the Kura test site in Kamchatka. Success was preceded by a large-scale import substitution program. On-board equipment, electronic complexes and the control system of the hypersonic product 4202. It is likely that the new heavy intercontinental missile Sarmat will receive hypersonic warheads, the throw tests of which will begin in 2017.
The undeclared high-tech arms race continues.
The American television channel CNBC reported: tests of the Zircon hypersonic missilewent well
Citing sources familiar with US intelligence reports, CNBC reported that on December 10, 2018, Russia conducted another test of the Zircon ship-based hypersonic missile. According to the channel's interlocutors, during the test the rocket accelerated to a speed eight times the speed of sound (Mach 8, or approximately 9,800 km/h). It was previously reported that the speed of the Zircons should exceed the speed of sound by 5–6 times. "Successful test carried out on last week, showed that the Russians were able to achieve stable flight of the missile, which is critical when developing hypersonic weapons,” one military expert explained to CNBC.
CNBC's interlocutors noted that the United States is not yet able to reliably protect its ships and other objects from Zircons.
Work on the newest so-called interspecific missile system 3K22 with the 3M22 missile, developed by the Reutov NPO Mashinostroyenia Corporation, has been ongoing at least since 2011. France is conducting similar work. China tested the WU-14 gliding GZLA.
In Russia, launches of the latest hypersonic product have been carried out for several years, but only today some test results and performance characteristics of the rocket have been declassified.
“During testing, the new Russian hypersonic anti-ship missile Zircon reached eight speeds of sound,” said a source in the military-industrial complex.
“During the tests of the rocket, it was confirmed that its speed on the march reaches Mach 8,” the agency’s interlocutor said. However, he did not specify when and from which platform the launch took place. The source added that Zircon can be launched from the same launchers that are used for the Caliber and Onyx missiles.
Cruise missiles "Zircon" (3M22) are being developed at the corporation "Tactical missile weapons" at least since 2011. According to open information, the missile's range can be up to 400 kilometers. The export version of the Zircon missile, according to UGATU experts, is an anti-ship missile "BrahMos-II".
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Technical characteristics of "Zircon" on this moment classified. Despite the fact that Zircon tests have been going on for a long time, there is very little information about the missile. There is no information whether an aviation version exists.
However, some tactical and technical characteristics of the Zircon missile can be identified now, based on the history and dynamics of the design and testing process of the 3M22 product.
What is the rocket for, what is the likely target?
Russian warships and submarines will be armed primarily with Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. How does Zircon differ from the already more or less well-known AGBO product - aeroballistic hypersonic combat equipment (aka product 4202)?
Firstly,
Unlike hypersonic combat equipment, the Zircon performs its entire flight in the atmosphere, significantly below the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and space.
Secondly,
if product 4202 – strategic system to hit a target at a distance of thousands of kilometers, the 3M22 is developing a line of heavy anti-ship missiles “Basalt” – “Granite” – “Onyx”, destroying surface and ground targets at a range of 300-400 km.
The scope of application imposes strict restrictions on Zircon on the strength of the structure, units and other performance characteristics. At hypersonic speeds, the rocket is exposed to high-temperature flow. It causes the structure to heat up to several thousand degrees (and the lower the flight altitude, the greater the load).
“One of the carriers of the Zircon missile should be the fifth-generation submarine Husky, developed by the Malachite Marine Engineering Bureau.”
At the same time, the Zircon must not only fly to a certain area, but, having detected the target, overcome the enemy’s air defense. Against the background of electronic interference, the missile must identify the desired object and be guaranteed to hit it. Hence the extremely high requirements. Taking into account the speed of the Zircon rocket, its RLGSN must operate under maximum load conditions.
The rocket's navigation system, which controls the flight during the cruising phase, is distinguished by accuracy and speed. At the final part of the trajectory, the target is identified by a radar homing head, the operation of which will be interfered with by false targets and electronic interference.
For a potential enemy, “Zircon” is a target that cannot be dealt with not only by the air defense systems currently in service with the potential enemy, but also by promising ones, work on which is just underway.
A brief history of the creation of a hypersonic anti-ship missile
Let us restore the chronology of events in order to assess exactly what capabilities the Zircon missile gives the Russian Navy.
The first mentions in open sources of the creation of a missile system with the Zircon 3K22 hypersonic operational anti-ship missile appeared in the media at the end of 2011. Later, the corporate newspaper of the NPO Mashinostroeniya “Tribuna VPK” wrote that in 2011, a group of chief designers was created in one of the directorates on the topic 3M22.
In 2011, the Central Institute of Aviation Engine Engineering from Lytkarino near Moscow showed hypersonic vehicles at the MAKS air show. Models of rockets were exhibited at the institute's stand. unusual shape- similar to the Australian platypus (they had a flattened spade-shaped fairing and a box-shaped body).
It was then that the name of the promising Zircon missile system was announced; its creation was officially announced for the first time only now. By the way, the Indian company Brahmos announced work on hypersonic vehicles, demonstrating a model of the same “platypus”.
Interesting information is provided by the annual report of the member Tactical Missile Corporation Ural design and engineering Bureau "Detail"(one of the areas of his work is the development of radio altimeters). In 2011, on the topic “Zircon”, a design of two products was approved and sent to the customer (NPOmash) - "Zircon-S-ARK" And "Zircon-S-RV". Experts believe that the abbreviation RV means radio altimeter, and ARC stands for automatic radio compass.
Same year NPO "Granit-Electron", leading developer of radio-electronic systems of the Russian Navy, reported on the creation of a project for 3M22 autopilot and inertial navigation systems. In the 2011 report of the Orenburg NPO Mashinostroyenia, part of the corporation Strela software(which produces anti-ship cruise missiles, including the P-800 Oniks), the priority for the coming years is the creation of a production base for the serial production of Zircon missiles.
According to the report of the NPO Mashinostroyenia Corporation for 2012, the development of industrial production technology has begun laser and optical-electronic systems of a complex of transceiver devices and computing facilities for guidance of hypersonic missiles.
It was at this time that the name “Zircon” disappeared from all open sources. Even from the Strela PA report for 2012, points about creating a base for the production of a new rocket were removed.
At the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced the creation of a superholding based on the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation and NPO Mashinostroyenia, which should deal with hypersonic technologies.
Later, the idea of creating a hypersonic industrial association on such a scale was abandoned in favor of merging a machine-building plant located in Dubna with the Reutov NPOmash design bureau "Raduga", which develops and produces air-launched missiles, including cruise missiles.
In the summer of 2012, a hypersonic air-launched cruise missile was tested at the test site of the 929th Flight Research Center in Akhtubinsk. The missile was carried by a Tu-22M3 bomber.
In September 2013, the head of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation, Boris Obnosov, admitted that Russia had already tested products that reach speeds of about Mach 4.5.
Hypersonic missile and modernization of heavy cruisers
After 2013, information about Project 3K22 missiles again disappeared from open sources. In the fall of 2015, people started talking about the missile in connection with the modernization of the Admiral Nakhimov.
According to the agreement between PA "Sevmash"(engaged in the re-equipment of TARKR) and the corporation "Almaz-Antey", the latter should supply ten vertical launchers (UVPU) ZS-14-11442M for the modernization of a heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser taking place at the enterprise project 11442.
Carrying eighty hypersonic Zircons, the Peter the Great will be capable of destroying in a matter of minutes not only a couple of carrier strike groups of a potential enemy, but the entire military fleet of a power such as Turkey.
According to available data, one of the carriers of Zircon should be Submarine fifth generation "Husky", the development of which began at the Marine Engineering Bureau "Malachite". According to the developers, the newest nuclear submarine is designed on one basic platform in two versions. Firstly, it is multi-purpose, focused on combating enemy submarines. Secondly, an anti-aircraft submarine, armed with cruise missiles, including Zircons.
Only five years passed from the appearance of the first information about the new rocket and the creation of a group of chief designers to the start of testing. Probably, Zircon is based on technical solutions that are largely ready-made and proven.
“State tests of Zircon, in accordance with the contract, are planned to be completed in 2017, and mass production to begin next year,” said a representative of the defense industry.
Cruise missiles "Zircon" (3M22) are intended, first of all, to replace the heavy anti-ship missiles of the "Granit" complexes in the fleet's arsenal and should be part of the armament of promising ships in the ocean zone (missile cruisers) "Leader" type and modernized nuclear cruisers of project 1144 "Orlan".
According to the channel's sources, US intelligence reports say that Russia will be able to begin serial production of Zircons in 2021, and their deliveries to the troops will begin in 2022.
The name “Zircon” was not mentioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his message Federal Assembly March 1, 2018, a significant part of which was devoted to the presentation of new types of weapons, including hypersonic ones. “The possession of such weapons certainly provides serious advantages in the field of armed struggle. Its power and might, as military experts say, can be enormous, and its speed makes it invulnerable to today’s missile defense and air defense systems, since anti-missiles, to put it simply, simply cannot catch up with them. Russia has such weapons. It already exists,” Putin said then, referring to the Kinzhal air-launched system.
2019-01-16T18:01:40+05:00 Sergey SinenkoDefense of the Fatherlandarmy, armed forces, missile, watch videoTechnical characteristics of the Zircon missile The American television channel CNBC reported: the tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile were successful. Citing sources familiar with US intelligence reports, CNBC reported that on December 10, 2018, Russia conducted another test of the Zircon ship-based hypersonic missile. According to the channel's interlocutors, during the test the rocket accelerated to a speed...Sergei Sinenko Sergei Sinenko [email protected] Author In the Middle of Russia![](https://i2.wp.com/posredi.ru/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/cropped-logo_ru-700.png)
TASS, citing a source in the military-industrial complex, during testing the missile was able to develop a marching speed of eight Mach numbers (9.9 thousand kilometers per hour). This is two Mach numbers more than previously stated.
Collage by Andrey Sedykh
The development of a hypersonic cruise missile has been ongoing since the late 2000s. New ammunition will be used to destroy enemy surface ships equipped with anti-aircraft and missile defense, which can effectively intercept modern supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.
Presumably the Zircon is a two-stage rocket that uses a solid-fuel rocket motor to gain speed. After turning off the solid fuel installation, the ramjet engine is turned on. According to unconfirmed reports, the missile's flight range is from 400 to a thousand kilometers.
Hypersonic Zircon missiles are planned to be included in the armament of fifth-generation nuclear submarines of the Husky project, which are being developed by the St. Petersburg Maritime Engineering Bureau Malachite. Such missiles will also be included in the range of weapons of the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Nakhimov of Project 1144 Orlan.
In April last year it was reported that state tests of the new missile are planned to be completed in 2017. Serial production of Zircon should begin next year.
Vasily Sychev
The United States lost the ocean theater of war to Russia
The appearance of a serial hypersonic missile means a revolution in naval art: the relative parity in the offensive-defense system will change, the potential of attack weapons will radically exceed the capabilities of defense.
News of the successful testing of the latest Russian hypersonic missile has seriously worried the US military leadership. There, judging by media reports, they decided to develop countermeasures as quickly as possible. We did not pay due attention to this event. Meanwhile, the introduction of this missile into service will be a revolution in military shipbuilding, will significantly change the balance of forces in sea and ocean theaters, and will immediately render models that are still considered quite modern into obsolete.
NPO Mashinostroyenia has been conducting a unique development since at least 2011 (“Zircon”, five Machs from the target). In open sources, the scientific and production cooperation of enterprises and research institutions involved in its creation is presented quite fully for such a promising and, accordingly, closed project. But the performance characteristics of the missile are shown very sparingly. Essentially only two are known: the speed, which is estimated with good accuracy at Mach 5-6 (the speed of sound in the surface layer of the atmosphere) and a very approximate probable range of 800-1000 kilometers. True, some other important data is also available, based on which it is possible to approximately estimate the remaining characteristics.
On warships, the Zircon will be used from the 3S-14 universal vertical launch launcher, unified for Caliber and Onyx. The rocket must be two-stage. The starting stage is a solid propellant engine. Only a ramjet engine (ramjet engine) can be used as a propulsion engine. The main carriers of the Zircons are considered to be heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers (TARKR) of projects 11442 and 11442M, as well as the promising nuclear submarine with cruise missiles (SSGN) of the 5th generation "Husky". According to unconfirmed reports, the creation of an export version, BrahMos-II, is being considered, the model of which was presented at the DefExpo 2014 exhibition in February 2014.
At the beginning of this year, the first successful flight tests of a ground-launched missile took place. It is expected that they will be put into service with the start of delivery to ships of the Russian Navy before the end of the decade.
What can be learned from this data? Based on the assumption of placement in a unified launcher for “Caliber” and “Onyx”, we draw a conclusion about the dimensions and, in particular, that the energy of the Zircon seeker cannot significantly exceed the similar indicators of the two mentioned missiles, that is, it is 50-80 kilometers depending on the effective dispersion area (RCS) of the target. The combat unit is operational tactical missile, designed to destroy large surface ships, cannot be small. Taking into account open data on the weight of the Onyx and Caliber warheads, it can be estimated at 250-300 kilograms.
The flight path of a hypersonic missile with a probable range of 800-1000 kilometers can only be high-altitude on the main part of the route. Presumably 30,000 meters, or even higher. This achieves greater range hypersonic flight and the effectiveness of the most modern air defense systems is significantly reduced. At the final stage, the missile will likely perform anti-aircraft maneuvering, in particular with a descent to extremely low altitudes.
The missile's control system and its seeker will likely contain algorithms that will allow it to autonomously identify the location of the main target in the enemy's order. The shape of the rocket (judging by the model) is made taking into account stealth technologies. This means that its ESR can be on the order of 0.001 square meter. The detection range of the Zircon by the most powerful radars of foreign surface ships and RLD aircraft is 90-120 kilometers in free space.
Obsolete "Standard"
These data are sufficient to assess the capabilities of the most modern and powerful system Air defense of American Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Orly Burke-class guided missile destroyers based on the Aegis BIUS with the most modern Standard-6 missile defense systems. This missile (full name RIM-174 SM-6 ERAM) was adopted by the US Navy in 2013. The main difference from previous versions of the “Standard” is the use of an active radar seeker, which allows you to effectively hit targets - “fire and forget” - without being accompanied by the firing radar of the carrier ship. This significantly increases the effectiveness of its use against low-flying targets, in particular beyond the horizon, and allows it to work according to external target designation data, for example, from an AWACS aircraft. With a starting weight of 1500 kilograms, “Standard-6” hits 240 kilometers, maximum height hitting air targets - 33 kilometers. The rocket's flight speed is 3.5 M, approximately 1000 meters per second. The maximum overload during maneuvering is about 50 units. The warhead is kinetic (for ballistic purposes) or fragmentation (for aerodynamic) weighing 125 kilograms - twice as much as in previous series of missiles. The maximum speed of aerodynamic targets is estimated at 800 meters per second. The probability of hitting such a target with one missile in field conditions is determined to be 0.95.
A comparison of the performance characteristics of the Zircon and Standard-6 shows that our missile falls within the range of the American missile defense system in height and is almost twice as high as permissible for it maximum speed aerodynamic targets - 1500 versus 800 meters per second. Conclusion: the American “Standard-6” cannot hit our “swallow”. However, this does not mean that hypersonic Zircons will not be fired upon. The Aegis system is capable of detecting such a high-speed target and issuing target designation for firing - it provides the ability to solve missile defense problems and even fight satellites, the speed of which is much higher than that of the Zircon anti-ship missile system. Therefore, shooting will continue. It remains to assess the likelihood of our missile being hit by an American missile defense system.
It should be noted that the kill probabilities given in the technical characteristics of missile defense systems are usually given for field conditions. That is, when the target does not maneuver and moves at a speed optimal for hitting it. In real combat, the probability of defeat is, as a rule, significantly lower. This is due to the peculiarities of the missile guidance process, which determine the specified restrictions on the permissible speed of a maneuvering target and the height of its destruction. We will not go into these details. It is important to note that the probability of hitting a maneuvering aerodynamic target with the Standard-6 missile system will be influenced by the detection range of the active seeker and the accuracy of the missile reaching the target capture point, the permissible overload of the missile during maneuvering and the density of the atmosphere, as well as errors in the location and elements of the target’s movement according to target designation radar and information control system.
All these factors determine the main thing - whether the missile defense system will be able to “select”, taking into account the maneuvering of the target, the magnitude of the miss to the level at which combat unit capable of hitting her.
There is no open data on the range of the active seeker of the Standard-6 missile defense system. However, based on the weight and size characteristics of the missile, it can be assumed that it will be able to see a fighter with an EPR of about five square meters within a range of 15-20 kilometers. Accordingly, for a target with an EPR of 0.001 square meters - the Zircon missile - the range of the Standard-6 seeker does not exceed two to three kilometers. When repelling attacking anti-ship missiles, shooting will naturally be carried out on a collision course. That is, the missiles’ approach speed will be about 2300-2500 meters per second. The missile defense system has less than one second to complete the approach maneuver from the moment the target is detected. The possibilities of reducing the size of the miss are negligible. Especially if we're talking about about interception at maximum altitudes - about 30 kilometers, where the rarefied atmosphere significantly reduces the maneuverability of missile defense systems. In fact, in order to successfully destroy a target such as the Zircon, the Standard-6 missile system must be launched at it with an error not exceeding the destruction zone of its warhead - 8-10 meters.
Sinking aircraft carriers
Calculations made taking into account these factors show that the probability of a Zircon missile being hit by one Standard-6 missile defense system is unlikely to exceed 0.02-0.03 under the most favorable conditions and target designation directly from the missile launch vehicle. When firing according to external target designation data, for example, an AWACS aircraft or another ship, taking into account errors in determining the relative location, as well as the delay time for information exchange, the error in the output of the missile defense system to the target will be greater, and the probability of hitting it will be less, and quite significantly - up to 0.005 -0.012. In general, it can be stated that “Standard-6” has the most effective missile defense Western world, the meager possibilities of defeating the Zircon.
Collage by Andrey Sedykh
Someone may object to me: the Americans, from a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, hit a satellite flying at a speed of 27,000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of about 240 kilometers. But he did not maneuver and his position was determined with exceptionally high accuracy after long-term observation, which made it possible to launch the missile defense missile to the target without a miss. When repelling a Zircon attack, the defending side will not have such capabilities, and the anti-ship missiles will begin to maneuver.
Let's evaluate the possibility of destroying our anti-ship missiles with air defense systems of a Ticonderoga-class cruiser or an Orly Burke-class guided missile destroyer. First of all, it should be noted that the detection range of the Zircon radar for monitoring the airspace of these ships can be estimated at 90-120 kilometers. That is, the time it takes for the RCC to approach the mission execution line from the moment it appears on the enemy radar will not exceed 1.5 minutes. The closed air defense system of the Aegis system has about 30-35 seconds for everything. From two Mk41 air defense missile launchers, it is realistic to launch no more than four missiles capable of potentially, taking into account the remaining time, approaching the attacking target and hitting it - the probability of hitting the Zircon with the main air defense system of a cruiser or destroyer URO will be no more than 0.08-0.12. The capabilities of the ZAK self-defense ship - "Vulcan-Phalanx" in this case are negligible.
Accordingly, two such ships, even with full use of their air defense systems against one Zircon anti-ship missile, give a probability of its destruction of 0.16-0.23. That is, a KUG consisting of two URO cruisers or destroyers has little chance of destroying even a single Zircon missile.
Electronic warfare means remain. These are active distracting and passive interference. To set them, the time from the moment of detection of anti-ship missiles or the operation of their seeker is sufficient. The complex use of interference can disrupt the missile's aiming at a target with a decent probability, which, taking into account the operating time of the ship's electronic warfare system, can be estimated at 0.3-0.5.
However, when firing at a group target, there is a high probability that the anti-ship missile seeker will capture another target in the order. Just as in the fighting in the Falklands, an English aircraft carrier was able, by placing passive interference, to divert the Exocet anti-ship missile coming at it. Its seeker, having lost this target, captured the container ship Atlantic Conveyors, which sank after being hit by a missile. At the speed of the Zircon, another warrant ship that will capture the anti-ship missile seeker will simply not have enough time to effective application electronic warfare means.
From these estimates it follows that a salvo of even two Zircon missiles at a KUG consisting of two Ticonderoga-class cruisers or Orly Burke-class guided missile destroyers with a probability of 0.7-0.8 will lead to the incapacitation or sinking of at least one from KUG ships. A four-missile salvo is almost guaranteed to destroy both ships. Since the Zircon’s firing range is almost twice that of the Tomahawk anti-ship missile system (about 500 km), the American KUG has no chance of winning a battle with our cruiser equipped with the Zircon anti-ship missile system. Even with the superiority of the Americans in reconnaissance and surveillance systems.
The situation is little better for the American fleet when the RF KUG, led by a cruiser equipped with the Zircon anti-ship missile, is opposed by an aircraft carrier strike group (AUG). The combat radius of deck attack aircraft when operating in groups of 30-40 vehicles does not exceed 600-800 kilometers. This means that it will be very problematic for the AUG to launch a preemptive strike on our naval formation with large forces capable of penetrating air defense. Strikes by small groups of carrier-based aircraft - pairs and units capable of operating at a distance of up to 2000 kilometers with refueling in the air - against our KUG with modern multi-channel air defense systems will be ineffective.
The release of our KUG for a salvo and the launch of 15-16 Zircon anti-ship missiles for the AUG will be fatal. The probability of the aircraft carrier being disabled or sunk will be 0.8-0.85 with the destruction of two or three escort ships. That is, the AUG with such a salvo will be guaranteed to be destroyed. According to open data, after modernization, Project 1144 cruisers should be equipped with a 3S-14 UVP with 80 cells. With such ammunition for the Zircon anti-ship missile, our cruiser can destroy up to three US AUGs.
However, no one will prevent in the future from placing the Zircon anti-ship missiles on both frigates and small ones rocket ships, which, as is known, have 16 and 8 cells respectively for the Caliber and Onyx missile launchers. This will increase them dramatically combat capabilities, will make it a serious adversary even for aircraft carrier groups.
Let us note that in the United States, hypersonic hypersonic missiles are also being intensively developed. But the Americans focused their main efforts on creating hypersonic missiles strategic purpose. There is no data yet on the development of anti-ship hypersonic missiles like Zircon in the United States, at least in open access. Therefore, we can assume that the Russian Federation’s superiority in this area will last for quite a long time - up to 10 years or more. The question is, how do we use it? Will we be able to saturate the fleet with a sufficient number of these anti-ship missiles in a short time? Given the pitiful state of the economy and the sequestration of state defense orders, it’s unlikely.
The emergence of a serial hypersonic missile will require the development of new methods and forms of warfare at sea, in particular to destroy surface forces the enemy and ensuring the combat stability of our own. To adequately increase the potential of ship air defense systems, it is likely necessary to revise the conceptual basis for constructing such systems. This will take time - at least 10-15 years.
Almost unnoticed was a media report on March 17 about the start of testing of the Russian Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. However, the military expert community managed to evaluate it. Essentially, this means that the Russian military-industrial complex has reached the finish line in creating a superweapon that potential enemies will have nothing to oppose in the near future.
Hypersonic missile "Zircon". Characteristics
NPO Mashinostroeniya has been developing the Zircon cruise missile since 2011. Her appearance and the characteristics are strictly classified, which is understandable. It is only known that this is a sea-based missile with an estimated speed of Mach 5-6 and a flight range of 300-400 km. In the future, the speed can be increased to Mach 8.According to some experts, the Zircon is essentially the same Russian-Indian supersonic BrahMos missile, only in a hypersonic version. If we continue to continue her “pedigree”, then new rocket“Zircon” will turn out to be the “granddaughter” of the P-800 “Onyx”, on the basis of which the “BrahMos” was created.
By the way, in February last year, representatives of the Brahmos Aerospace company announced their readiness to create a hypersonic engine for a joint brainchild in the next 3-4 years.
First test results
The first tests of the Zircon rocket were carried out at the State Flight Test Center (Akhtubinsk) in 2012-2013. The long-range supersonic bomber Tu-22M3 was chosen to play the “role” of the carrier. Testing was continued 2 years later, but from a ground launcher.The fact that Russia will soon have a new formidable weapon became clear after successful tests last year. Tests should be completed this year, and a year later Zircon is expected to go into mass production.
Problems encountered during development
For the Zircon anti-ship missile to become hypersonic, its creators had to work hard. One of the main problems is the monstrous overheating of the body during a flight on hypersonic speed followed by the formation of a plasma cloud. As it turned out, one of the main missile systems, responsible for homing, is practically “blind” in it. It became obvious that Zircon would require a new generation of electronic components.To accelerate the rocket, it was decided to use a ramjet rocket engine with supersonic combustion using fuel with increased energy intensity - “Decilin-M”. To solve the whole range of problems, the best Russian specialists in the field of aerodynamics, engine building, materials science and electronics were involved in the development of the product.
Prospects
Initially, the Zircons were designed as “aircraft carrier killers” - sea-based missiles that would be equipped with the 5th generation Husky nuclear submarines. However, it is not difficult to assume that over time they will be able to launch from surface ships, ground-based launchers and from strike aircraft.Equipment Russian Army Zircon missiles can seriously affect the balance of forces. Firstly, they will become even more vulnerable US drums. Secondly, the unique high-speed and maneuverable characteristics of the domestic hypersonic missile will reduce the effectiveness of the American missile defense system to almost zero.
Hypersonic projects of the USA and other countries
However, one should not write off the main Russian competitors. Back in the early 2000s, during the presidency of George W. Bush, the development of the doctrine of rapid global strike began, where the main focus was on hypersonic cruise missiles with a range of 6000 km.As part of the doctrine, tests of the AHW missile are already underway, and next in line is the HTV-2 project to create a missile capable of reaching a speed of Mach 20 with a destruction range of 7,700 km. Last March, Lockheed Martin began developing the SR-72 hypersonic drone.
The hypersonic trend is the focus of China's military-industrial complex. So a year ago hypersonic aircraft were tested aircrafts DF-ZF and Yu-71. India is developing the Shaurya tactical surface-to-surface missile, which can reach speeds of Mach 7. France is not far behind with its hypersonic air-to-ground cruise missile project ASN4G with nuclear warhead and speed 8 Mach.