TASS News Agency
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate test-fired a hypersonic cruise missile Tsirkon (Zircon) from the Barents Sea at a sea target located in the White Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“Project 22350 frigate the Admiral Gorshkov fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile at a sea target in the White Sea from the Barents Sea,” it said.
“According to objective control data, the Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile successfully hit a sea target located at a distance of around 1,000 km.”
Russian Defence Ministry
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About Tsirkon Hypersonic Anti-ship Missile
Open sources said the hypersonic 3M-22 missile was designed by NPO-machinostroeniya in Reutov in the Moscow region. It is a part of the 3K-22 (Tsirkon code) complex which NATO reports as SS-N-33. The missile can develop a speed of Mach 9 and fly at an altitude of 30-40 km where the range and speed increase as air resistance is smaller. Experts estimate the payload at 300-400 kg and the missile length at 8-10 meters. The missile is to be fired from universal vertical launchers 3S-14 on warships and submarines and from Bastion mobile coastal missile launchers.
The first-in-class frigate Admiral Gorshkov test-fired the Tsirkon (sometimes spelled Zirkon) hypersonic missile in January 2020. After the first shipborne test-fire, the Russian carried out a bunch of live trials of the missile in 2020 and 2021. One of the most important milestones was launching Tsirkon from Yasen-class submarine K-560 Severodvinsk, which took place on 04 October 2021.
Russian Navy deployed (or announced to deploy) the missiles to Admiral Gorshkov-class and Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, Gremyashchiy class corvettes, as well as Yasen-class submarines.
