During the attack on Kyiv on March 25, the Russian occupiers probably used the Zircon hypersonic missiles for the second time. This is the latest development, which the Russians said was impossible to shoot down and called the pinnacle of their military technology. However, both missiles were neutralized by air defense forces.
How dangerous is the Russian Zircon missile
Unfortunately, Ukraine has become a testing ground for the enemy, where he tests his weapons. This opinion was expressed by Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, adding that this could explain why Russia hit Ukraine with such an expensive missile.
The enemy had already used it for strikes, but the missile fragments were fragmented. Now, a significant part has been preserved, so a thorough analysis will be possible. But it is already known that we are talking about a hypersonic weapon with a hypersonic jet engine.
Unlike the Kinzhal, which accelerates to hypersonic speeds but cannot sustain them, the Zircon is a more advanced missile with a new type of engine.
The Zircon can maintain a hypersonic speed of Mach 5.5 during the cruise section of the flight, which means that it is a missile of a completely different level. An important aspect is that Russia has invested huge funds in its development, huge resources, time, money, and Ukraine has become a testing ground for it, — Oleg Katkov said.
The Kremlin developed this missile even before the start of a full-scale war to attack the ships of the United States and other NATO countries. At the same time, it was proved that the "Zircon" could be shot down with the means available to the Ukrainian Air Force. We are probably talking about the Patriot and SAMP/T systems.
Let me remind you that these complexes belong to the lowest anti-missile defence level in NATO countries. There are other, much higher systems, particularly ground and anti-aircraft systems, which have better parameters. But even Patriot is enough to demonstrate the destruction of the Zircon missile.
Oleg Katkov.
editor-in-chief of Defense Express
Therefore, even if the enemy invested considerable resources in the missile, he could not hope it would fulfil its task in the event of a war against NATO.
For example, "Kinzhal" missiles were created for similar purposes — a breakthrough in anti-missile defence, but the cases of its downing have already become statistics. Then, in Russia, they began to be convinced that this was allegedly not an accurate hypersonic missile, but "Zircon" seemed like no one could intercept it. However, as we can see, everything is not like that at all.
In my opinion, we should expect another purge among scientists, engineers, and designers engaged in this topic, as was the case after "Kinzhal", added the editor-in-chief of Defense Express.
Can the Russians improve "Zircon"
If we compare other types of long-range missile weapons, it is evident that "Zircon" is produced in much smaller quantities. It must be understood that it is much more costly than "Kinzhal". It is called the pinnacle of Russian military technology.
The missile accelerates to enormous speeds and maintains them constantly. First, "Zircon" is launched, gains altitude thanks to a solid-fuel accelerator, and after that, the engine is turned on, the missile accelerates to Mach 5.5 and this speed is maintained, Katkov noted.
When the missile enters the target, there is an acceleration of up to Mach 7.5, but this is all given open information. After all, there was no way to monitor the missile at the range. When "Zircon" enters the denser layers of the atmosphere, the speed decreases to Mach 4.5,
These are huge loads. In order to withstand such temperature loads, the missile is covered with special coatings, panels, and elements. The missike is very expensive, much more expensive than any other that is available in Russia, therefore, obviously, there will be no talk of producing dozens a day, — said Katkov.
