3M22 Zircon

This article is about the Russian hypersonic missile. For other uses, see Zircon (disambiguation).

3M22 Zircon
Type	Anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile Air-launched cruise missile Submarine-launched cruise missile Land-attack missile
Place of origin	Russia
Service history
In service	In production
Used by	Russia
Production history
Designer	NPO Mashinostroyeniya
Produced	2012–present
Specifications
Length	8-10 m
Engine	Scramjet
Fuel capacity	600 miles (970 km)
Operational range	1,000 km (540 nmi; 620 mi)
Maximum speed	Mach 6 (4,567 mph; 7,350 km/h; 2,041.7 m/s)
Launch platform	Aircraft, submarines, ships, and ground-based TEL systems

The 3M22 Zircon also spelled as 3M22 Tsirkon (Russian: Циркон, NATO reporting name: SS-N-33) is a maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile developed by Russia. Its latest successful launch was on June 3, 2017, almost a year earlier than had been announced by Russian officials.

Development

Prototypes were test-launched first from a Tu-22M3 bomber in 2012-2013. Launches from a ground platform followed in 2015, with first success achieved in 2016. In April 2017, it was reported that the Zircon had reached a speed of Mach 8 (6,090 mph; 9,800 km/h; 2,722.3 m/s) during a test.

In November 2017, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev stated that the Zircon missile is already deployed in the Russian Armed Forces.

Design

The Zircon is believed to be a maneuvering, winged hypersonic cruise missile with a lift-generating center body. A booster stage with solid-fuel engines accelerates it to supersonic speeds, after which a scramjet motor in the second stage accelerates it to hypersonic speeds. The missile represents a further development of the HELA (Hypersonic Experimental Flying Vehicle) developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya that was on display at the MAKS Air Show in 1995.

The Zircon's range is estimated to be 135 to 270 nautical miles (155 to 311 mi; 250 to 500 km) at low level, and up to 400 nmi (460 mi; 740 km) in a semi-ballistic trajectory; average range is around 400–450 km (250–280 mi; 220–240 nmi). According to state-owned media, the longest range is 540 nmi (620 mi; 1,000 km) and for this purpose a new fuel was created.

The Zircon can travel at a speed of Mach 5–Mach 6 (3,806–4,567 mph; 6,125–7,350 km/h; 1,701.5–2,041.7 m/s). Such high speeds have led to concerns that it could penetrate existing naval defense systems; the Royal Navy's Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile is only capable of intercepting targets flying up to Mach 3.

The missile will be introduced with the Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov after the completion of its currently undergoing refit, following by the Pyotr Velikiy. The ships will have their P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles replaced with 3S-14 vertical launch systems capable of carrying the Oniks, Kalibr and Zircon missiles; each battlecruiser will be equipped with 72 such missiles. After the upgrade, the battlecruisers can carry 40–80 anti-ship missiles of different types. Other surface platforms of the Russian Navy includes the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates with possibility to carry 8 Zircon missiles while the number of missiles raises to 16 when carried by the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. The missile could be used also by the planned Lider-class destroyer as well as by other current or planned military platforms including the Yasen-class, Husky-class attack submarines and the Tu-160M2, Tupolev PAK DA strategic bombers.

In flight, the missile is completely covered by a plasma cloud. This cloud absorbs any radio waves and makes the missile invisible to radar (Plasma stealth). Missiles exchange information in flight and can be controlled by commands if necessary.

Export

A version for export should have its range limited under 300 km in compliance with the MTCR or up to 400 km.

Operators

Russia

See also

• BrahMos-II
• Kh-90
• Boeing X-51
• Kh-22 up to 1000 km
• Skif (missile) for sea basement (in service)

Further reading

• Hypersonic missile "Zircon" why NATO is afraid of new Russian weapons (Russian)
• Hunting in Russian "Zircon" (Russian)