According to the press release, the frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko (both project 22350), operating as part of a strike group, fired 3M22 Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, while the diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk (project 06363 Varshavyanka) fired a 3M14 Kalibr cruise missile at a sea target. At the same time, from the Mediterranean coast, the crew of the K300P Bastion coastal missile system conducted a combat launch with a supersonic 3M55 Onyx cruise missile. The designated targets were struck with direct hits. The published video shows that the target of the attacks was an ad hoc barge on which containers were stacked.
Evacuation with head held high
As we recently reported, the Russians are seemingly evacuating their base in Tartus, Syria, as a result of the unfavorable situation on the frontline. As we can see now, Moscow is trying to turn the evacuation into a normal training cycle and come out of the situation with its head held high. Indeed, similar combined naval and air force exercises based on bases in Syria, the Russians have already conducted, but it is possible that this time the reason for the departure from Tartus was not only exercises.
The exercises were conducted under the command of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Adm. Alexander Moiseyev. The established groups of strike and anti-submarine forces conducted missile, artillery and torpedo fires, as well as deptch charges attacks. The exercises involved more than 1,000 soldiers, 10 combat and support ships, 24 aircraft, including MiG-31I fighters (that’s what the communiqué says, but it most likely meant MiG-31K from the Humayim base) of the Air and Space Forces with 9-S-7760 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and the Bastion coastal missile system.
It was not officially stated where the missile firings took place, but given that the land-based Bastion took part in them, probably off the coast of Syria. An interesting video was published along with the news, showing the firing of a hypersonic Tsirkon.
What does Tsirkon really look like and what can it do?
Along with the announcement, a video has been published that shows, in part, what the Tsirkon looks like in real life. The images published so far of a missile with a flattened front section and an air intake under the fuselage are surely the invention of graphic designers.
The video shows that the missile has a very conventional design, similar to the Onyx. The missile has a central, circular air intake with a cone. This part of the Tsirkon, like the Onyx, is covered by a protective cap during transport and launch. It is ejected during the launch phase. Tsirkons in versions for surface ships and submarines, and more recently for land-based systems, use unified transport and launch containers.
Thanks to the interception of the Tsirkons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it was possible to examine their remains and learn some of their actual characteristics and capabilities. Two missiles were used on March 25, 2024 in an attack on Kyiv.
It has been established that the Tsirkon’s pattern of operation is as follows. After launch from the vertical launcher, an acceleration stage begins, which ensures that the missile flies to a significant altitude and reaches a speed at which the hypersonic propulsion engine can begin to operate. After its launch, the Tsirkon flies at an altitude of several tens of kilometers and reaches a constant speed of up to Ma=5.5 on the marching stage of the flight. The flight takes place in a rarefied atmosphere. In the area of the target, the Tsirkon begins to dive and for a short time accelerates to circa Ma=7.5. During this stage, the fuselage heats up to the maximum temperatures that the thermal insulation coating can withstand. At the same time, even closer to the ground, the speed is decrease, although still very high – around Ma=4.5. At the same time, the Ukrainians’ research shows that the Tsirkon does not reach the speeds reported by the Russian MoD and president Putin (up to Ma=9). Nevertheless, such parameters of the missile mean, that it can only be countered by the highest-performance anti-missile systems, such as MBDA Aster 30 B1NT.
The manufacturer of the 3M22 Tsirkon is NPO Mashinostroyeniya. On Dec. 21, 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu revealed that deliveries of the 3M22 Zirkon ship-borne missiles of the serial production batch have begun. Currently, Project 22350 frigates, Project 08850/08551 Yasien nuclear submarines and modified K340P launchers of the Bastion system are equipped to carry them.
