Don't believe the hype about the Russian hypersonic missile. Zircon hypersonic missile: why NATO is afraid of new Russian weapons Russian long-range hypersonic missiles

A new Russian hypersonic missile could render the American missile defense system meaningless and give us an advantage for 30 years ahead. Reports of successful tests of Russia's latest hypersonic cruise anti-ship missile, Zirkon, have become a real sensation. It's no joke, this device has reached eight speeds of sound, that is, 2.5 km / s. This achievement confidently brings Russia forward in one of the most promising areas. After all, the development of hypersonic vehicles, besides us, is carried out by the United States and China, but they have not yet been able to show the world anything like that. Running with obstacles The speed record for modern anti-ship missiles is Mach 2.5 (M), or two and a half the speed of sound. Such missiles are launched in the intended direction of the target's movement. However, even with such a missile flight speed, the target can change direction and go beyond the detection sector of the homing head. A thermal barrier is an obstacle to further increase in speed. Flights of prototypes at 3 M were accompanied by heating the edges of the air intakes and the leading edge of the wing up to 300 ° C, and the rest of the skin - up to 250. At 230 ° C, the strength of duralumin decreases, at 520 ° C, titanium alloys lose the necessary mechanical properties. And at temperatures above 650 ° C, aluminum and magnesium melt, heat-resistant steel loses its properties. And this is when flying in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 km in highly rarefied air. Achieving a speed of 3 M at lower altitudes is not possible: the skin temperature would reach four-digit values. But on a high-altitude trajectory, the enemy will notice the missile launch within seconds after the launch and begin to prepare to repel the attack. And what happens if his radar loses a missile? Well, let's say, it will be enveloped by a plasma cloud, as happens at speeds of more than 4 - 5 M, that is, in hypersound? Most likely, he will decide that the signal was false and wave his hand. But how to achieve such a speed if the structure heats up and the fuel boils? To achieve hypersound, a rocket needs hydrogen, or at least a fuel consisting largely of hydrogen. But gaseous hydrogen has a low density, and storing liquid hydrogen creates insurmountable technical difficulties. In addition, the plasma cloud will burn the radio antennas, which will lead to loss of control of the device.
Remember everything On the Soviet hypersonic X-90 GELA missile, these shortcomings were turned into advantages. The problem of cooling the hull and hydrogen fuel was solved in such a way that a mixture of kerosene and water was used as its components. After heating, it was fed into a mini-reactor, where a reaction took place, as a result of which hydrogen fuel was produced. This process simultaneously led to a strong cooling of the machine body. No less original was the problem of burning radio antennas, which began to be used as the plasma cloud itself. At the same time, it allowed the device not only to move in the atmosphere at a speed of 5 M, but also to sharply change the direction of flight. In addition, the plasma cloud also created the effect of a cap of invisibility for radars. GELA flew 3000 km and, presumably, could carry two nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, the program was closed in 1992, then the country ran out of money, and it seemed that hypersonic flights were forgotten.
The birth of a rocket In 2011, NPO Mashinostroeniya created a group of designers to develop the ZK22 Zirkon hypersonic shipborne missile system. The first tests and the first failures occurred in 2012 and 2013. It took three years to eliminate the shortcomings, and only in 2016, after testing from a ground stand, the developers announced the creation of a new hypersonic missile weapon. At the same time, it was said that it could go into production from 2017. Of course, the test results of such weapons are a mystery, but some assumptions about the characteristics of the Zircon of the first modification can be made. Already the first modification of this missile will have a range about 500 km at a speed of 2.5 km / s, and with an increase in speed to 3.5 km / s, the range will triple. The United States has nothing like Zircon and is not expected in the near future. It must be understood that at the speeds of this missile, which are eight to ten times the speed of sound, no air defense missiles can bring it down. Thus, the reaction time of the US air defense missile system of the Aegis system is about 8-10 seconds. "Zircon" at a speed of 2 km / s during this time will fly up to 25 km, the air defense system will not physically have time to work out such a target. Ground-based interceptor missiles also do not have time to catch up with "Zirkon" and can only be used on a collision course. That is, "Zircons" are specially designed to overcome enemy air defenses.
new era It seems that the first ship to be armed with the ZK22 Zircon will be the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, which is currently undergoing modernization. The ship should return to the combat fleet in 2018. In addition, after the modernization is completed in 2022, another nuclear cruiser, the Peter the Great, will also be armed with these missiles. Now each of them has 20 Granit anti-ship missile launchers, and each can accommodate three Zircons. A total of 60 missiles on each cruiser instead of 20. And when we have the fifth-generation Husky submarine, on which the Zircon will stand, we can confidently say that we have achieved superiority over the United States.
It is no coincidence that Congressman Trend Franks commented on the situation: “The hypersonic era is approaching. Enemy developments are fundamentally changing the fundamental laws of war." And indeed it is. The appearance in our country of long-range hypersonic cruise missiles with nuclear warheads will make any missile defense system meaningless for at least 30 years ahead. You can read other materials from the latest issue of the Zvezda weekly by downloading the electronic version of the newspaper.

The topic of "military" hypersound has been on the front pages of the world's leading publications for several decades now. Moreover, this issue is raised not only by specialized media, but also by tabloids dedicated to international relations, economics, finance ...

The reason for such close attention is the likely change of the "planetary hegemon", because a country that can put on stream the production of hypersonic aircraft (GZLA) before potential opponents will gain real freedom in foreign policy. The new offensive weapon will be inaccessible to modern defense systems, which means that the usual rhetoric of "historical parity" in the rivalry between the West and the East will also remain in the past.

According to experts, Moscow and Washington once again became participants in an unannounced duel: no one doubts the fact that the hypersonic missiles of Russia and the United States will have diametrically opposed goals - the only mystery is who will “take aim” at whom ...

Weapons labeled "Top Secret"

Today, “absolute weapons” are spoken about literally on every corner. Newspapers, magazines, television programs - everywhere they trumpet about the imminent approach of the "terrifying prospect." And at the same time, the flow of truly useful information is so meager that sometimes it seems that hypersonic cruise missiles are nothing more than a figment of the imagination of science fiction writers.

Why is this happening? Yes, because, having given publicity to the results of individual developments, the military is in no hurry to reveal all the cards, because at stake is the future of the country, its ability to adequately respond to global threats and the challenges of potential adversaries. In addition, many projects have the status of state secrets, and this not only complicates the professional activities of journalists, but also "silences" those who could tell something about shifts and breakthroughs in this direction. Nevertheless, the data collected bit by bit suggests that the Russian missile forces are on the verge of a qualitative transformation, that in another year or two - and the secret systems will take up combat duty ...

The emphasis on hypersound is not accidental - a target moving at a speed of three to four kilometers per second ceases to be vulnerable to the vast majority of missile defense systems. Now only intercontinental ballistic missiles can boast of such performance indicators. However, their "cruising acceleration" is realized exclusively in airless space (at great heights). As you know, a material body in space is deprived of aerodynamic maneuvering, that is, invulnerability.

A hypersonic cruise missile (Russia has yet to conduct a series of tests before the modernized Koala model, which is how the domestic X-90 is called in the NATO armies, will become a serious deterrent in relations with the "presumptuous hegemon") - this is an ultra-precise weapon with a kill radius several tens of thousands of kilometers. In fact, such a combat unit is the embodiment of the military's dream, because, in addition to speed and "selectivity", it will have absolute invulnerability.

Not so long ago, the revelations of Boris Obnosov, the head of TRO, leaked to the press. The director of the corporation said that in 2013, one “dream” was already tested at the Akhtubinsk training ground, capable of reaching a speed of 5 thousand km / h. And although the rocket was able to hold out in the air for only a few tens of seconds, the designer unequivocally hinted that the final success was close, and that the American product - the notorious X-51A - was significantly inferior to the Russian one in many technical parameters.

Hypersonic Cruise Missiles: The Cold War That Never Ended

The role that the United States assigns to "hypersound" is, of course, colossal. According to intelligence, the practical implementation of the idea is part of an overall strategy aimed at "forcing" Moscow into geopolitical capitulation. In other words, the Pentagon has once again embarked on building a dialogue from a position of strength.

Until 2025, the moment when, according to official doctrine, Russia's new hypersonic missiles will have to "become operational", Washington will definitely try to "eliminate the Russian threat." Moreover, he has plenty of political and economic opportunities to influence domestic processes. However, the possibility of a direct confrontation cannot be ruled out. It is no coincidence that the number of CRBDs (long-range cruise missiles) in the US Army is brought to 7 thousand units - an unprecedented figure since the active phase of the Cold War.

Hidden Threats, or What's Behind NASA's Space Programs?

NASA's peaceful space exploration program isn't really that friendly. Among other things, it implies that by 2020 the agency should have at its disposal a hypersonic carrier (supposedly for launching tonnage cargo into orbit). The tests conducted last summer - we are talking about the launch of the X-43A from the Kodiak test site, Alaska - showed that the true intentions of the "astronauts" are completely different (before the launch, the task was set: to hit a target located on a Pacific atoll, at a speed not less than 6.5 thousand km/s). In fact, there was a "demonstration performance" with the participation of a combat prototype. The result of "peaceful" research will most likely be a hypersonic missile with a kinetic warhead.

Similar projects are being implemented by the US Army and Navy. In the US Air Force, in parallel, work is underway to study the potential of the Falcon HTV-2: during the last “California experiment”, the device exceeded all expectations and reached a speed of Mach 20 (about 23,000 km / h). However, there is no need to talk about a successful start - the sample lost control and collapsed, never reaching its destination. The reasons for the loss of communication with the missile remain unclear.

What will be the response of Russia?

It must be understood that "military" hypersound for Russia is not a new topic. The first attempts to create "something maneuverable and super-fast" were made in the USSR back in the 70s of the last century (meaning an experimental model with a split charge and a flight range of up to 3000 km; later it "entered the series" and received the name "Cold" ), and their results formed the basis of the technology for the production of "elusive" warheads. "Topol-M", "Bulava", "Liner" - for these modifications of intercontinental ballistic missiles, it is common to change the heading and flight altitude on the final leg of the journey. And it's not a secret. But as for the presence of "aerospace planes" - everything here is shrouded in a veil of mystery.

The Americans, for example, are betting on the Falcon and X-51A. As expected, a new class aircraft will be able to constantly “hang” in orbit, and if necessary, launch deadly missiles that can hit a target in a matter of minutes. There is almost no information about Russian analogues. However, the calm demonstrated by the country's leadership indicates that the Kremlin still has a couple of trump cards up its sleeve.

Yu-71 as a tool to limit the effectiveness of overseas missile defense

Until February of this year, there was no reliable information about Object 4202. Nowhere did any information about the Yu-71 warhead (Yu-71) come up. But after the launch of the prototype from the Dombarovsky training ground, near Orenburg, all the dots over the “i” were finally dotted. Judging by the official report, by 2025 the local regiment of the Strategic Missile Forces will receive more than 20 special installations, each of which will be able to work with "invulnerable charges." Behind this wording lies what has been talked about for so long - Russia's latest hypersonic missiles.

Some analysts claim that the February tests did not go quite smoothly - they say, the “modernized” UR-100N (UTTKh) was the carrier, and it did not cope with the task. However, the achieved acceleration rate - about 5.2 Mach - is already a huge breakthrough. It remains to “tighten the nuts” and “tighten the bolts”.

Data coming from open sources indicate that the designers of NPO Mashinostroeniya (Reutov) are behind the implementation of the 4202 project, and they have been working in this direction since 2009. That is, with the observance of the regime of secrecy in the military department, things are going well.

Independent experts believe that Russia's new hypersonic cruise missile is a kind of "hybrid" capable of operating both independently and as part of an intercontinental ballistic launch system. Probably, we are talking about several modifications that will be compatible with both light Topols and heavier Sarmats (the debut of the latter is expected at the turn of 2019-2020).

The 25-140 km corridor is not the only topical area for research. Moscow is mastering the technology at an accelerated pace, which allows launching objects on unthinkable trajectories at ultra-low altitudes with an acceleration of Mach 3-4. Being aerodynamic targets for missile defense systems, such cruise missiles will be able to get ahead of interceptor charges and hit targets regardless of the saturation of the defensive shield.

Is the Pentagon ready for a meeting with Zircon?

Russian hypersonic missiles are a "closed" topic. What ends up in print is usually "deliberate drain". Therefore, there is no exact information about Zircon even now - three years after the official "bride-in" was supposed to take place. But if we take into account the fact that last summer military officials approved a program for the development of hypersonic technologies immediately for 6 years in advance, then the conclusion suggests itself: the phantom rocket performed adequately during the next exercise, its appearance in the Armed Forces is a settled issue.

It is suggested that the Zircon will become an operational element at a distance of 300 to 400 km. But how it will be in reality is still unknown. And this uncertainty greatly alarms the Pentagon - they are used to believing that the hypersonic missiles of Russia and the United States are very similar in their tactical and technical characteristics. The birth of the "eastern Phoenix", which has outstanding abilities, is a serious cause for concern for NATO generals.

Again, the mechanism for delivering Zircon to the target is unclear. And the Americans today are forced to puzzle over exactly what changes they should make to their "long-suffering" missile defense system in order to minimize the potential damage from the "sending".

Hypersonic missile and long-range aircraft: an explosive mixture

The head of the "TRO" admits that the first hypersonic missiles of Russia will still be based not on ground stations with MBN, but in the air - on board ships of long-range and medium aviation. The reason for such changes may be the need to give the combat elements an initial speed (practical tests have shown that during a “stationary launch”, a ramjet engine is not activated until the start of an equipped warhead, and this negatively affects the acceleration dynamics).

With an additional “push” from the aircraft, a Russian hypersonic cruise missile can easily cross the Mach 6 threshold. According to Obnosov, in the future (not earlier than 2030), “profile launch vehicles” will appear in service - manned vehicles that accelerate to Mach 4-8.

American X-51A Waverider and domestic "Mosquito": no one is safe from failures

Overseas "partners" perceive Russia's hypersonic missiles as a nightmare. Therefore, huge sums are allocated annually from the US federal budget for the development of the air force. One of these semi-secret projects is known under the code name X-51A Waverider.

The first and, in fact, the only "open" tests of the carrier took place in 2010. Then the X-51 booster stage launched the rocket along a steep trajectory to a height of 19.8 km, and the supersonic engine that turned on provoked the acceleration of the prototype to Mach 4.8. But after the prototype managed to rise another 1500 meters above the ground and accelerate to Mach 5 (more than 5.5 thousand km / h), interruptions in telemetry began. Since the signal from the object was unstable, it came to forced liquidation. By the way, according to a similar scenario, a month before the events described, the FHTV-2, an aircraft designed by the Boeing concern, was tested. It turns out that the same disconnection became the cause of the Falcon crash (the route ran over the non-navigable region of the Pacific Ocean, so they did not blow up the prototype).

It must be said that Russia also possesses hypersonic missiles not thanks to a "happy accident" - this event was preceded by dozens of unsuccessful launches and delayed launches. What is the "epopee" with the introduction of the anti-ship "Mosquito" (P-270) into operation? But there it was “only” about the speed in 4 Max!

Close acquaintance with the "Koala": Russian hypersonic missile "Kh-90"

The history of the creation of the X-90 goes back to the now distant 1971. The case concerned a medium-class strategic carrier applicable at low altitudes. However, the leadership of the USSR reacted to the initiative of the designers of NPO Raduga very cool, and until 1976 the project was not remembered. In the 80s, prototypes were already accelerated to Mach 4; at the same time, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"bifurcation" of the warhead was brought to life (each charge could be aimed at a separate target, provided that the distance to it from the point of "decay" did not exceed 100 km). In 1992, for obvious reasons, all developments were “mothballed”.

Five years later, the Russian hypersonic missile with the X-90 index was transformed into an "experimental aircraft operating at superspeeds." In NATO, the project was immediately dubbed the AS-19 Koala. It is worth noting that Moscow officially insists that the Koala and X-90s built in the 1970s have nothing in common, although experts, all as one, say otherwise.

The speed of the 1997 hypersonic missile declared by the designers is Mach 5, the radius of action is 3500 km. After detaching from the TU-160M ​​(at an altitude of 7-20 km), the wing mechanism is activated. This is followed by the launch of a solid-fuel booster, which brings the combat unit to a supersonic level, and only then the main engine is turned on.

Modern Poplars and Stilettos are a new step in the evolution of the X-90. Large-scale military exercises in 2004 confirmed that 5000 m / s is far from the limit for a hypersonic warhead.

Moscow and Delhi: the birth of BrahMos-2

Of course, testing Russia's hypersonic missile was expensive. And it's not even about money, of which a lot has been spent on military needs over the past twenty years. Political and sometimes economic pressure from the West forced the Kremlin to "active defense", to search for new strategic partners...

Not so long ago, the tests of BrahMos were completed. The joint Russian-Indian project was marked by the birth of the "winged beast", which can move at a speed of 650 m/s. But no one is going to stop there. The next stage of cooperation is "BrahMos-2" with indicators of 6.5-7 Mach. If it is possible to realize what was planned, then Moscow and Delhi will be able to share the laurels of the winner, because one can only dream of a weapon with similar characteristics.

What is interesting: a high-ranking Pentagon official in an interview, answering a journalist's question about whether there are hypersonic missiles in the Russian Federation, chose to remain silent. Although some 15 years ago, foreign experts categorically stated that the Kremlin's expectations in this area were in vain, and that Mach 7 was an unattainable limit (according to unofficial data, the scramjet engine, created by domestic designers, successfully "passed the test" back in 1998).

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, another test of the Zircon ship-based hypersonic missile was conducted in Russia. According to the interlocutors of the TV channel, during the test, the rocket accelerated to a speed eight times the speed of sound (Mach 8, or about 9800 km / h). Earlier it was reported that the speed of the Zircons should exceed the speed of sound by 5-6 times. “A successful test last week showed that the Russians were able to achieve sustained missile flight, which is critical when developing hypersonic weapons,” one military expert told CNBC.

Interlocutors of the CNBC television channel noted that the United States is not yet able to reliably protect its ships and other objects from Zircons.

Work on the latest so-called 3K22 interspecific missile system with the 3M22 missile, developed by the Reutov NPO Mashinostroeniya Corporation, has been underway since at least 2011. France is doing the same. China tested the GZLA WU-14.

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.

“In tests, the new Russian hypersonic anti-ship missile Zircon reached eight speeds of sound,” a source in the military-industrial complex said.

"During the tests of the rocket, it was confirmed that its speed on the march reaches Mach 8," the source said. However, he did not specify when and from what platform the launch was carried out. The source added that Zircon can be launched from the same launchers that are used for Caliber and Onyx missiles.

Cruise missiles "Zirkon" (3M22) are being developed in the corporation "Tactical Missiles" at least since 2011. According to open information, the range of the missile can be up to 400 kilometers. The export version of the Zircon missile, according to the assumption of USATU specialists, is anti-ship missiles "BrahMos II".

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The technical characteristics of Zircon are currently classified. Despite the fact that tests of the Zircon have been going on for a long time, there is very little information about the rocket. There is no data whether there is an aviation version of it.

Nevertheless, some tactical and technical characteristics of the Zircon missile can already be identified, 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?

First of all, Russian warships and submarines will be armed with Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. How does Zircon differ from the already more or less well-known AGBO product - aeroballistic hypersonic combat equipment (it is also product 4202)?

First of all,

unlike hypersonic combat equipment, the Zircon performs the entire flight in the atmosphere, well below the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space.

Secondly,

if product 4202 is a strategic system for hitting a target at a distance of thousands of kilometers, then 3M22 is developing a line of heavy anti-ship missiles "Basalt" - "Granite" - "Onyx", destroying surface and ground targets at a distance of 300-400 km.

The scope of application imposes severe restrictions on the strength of the structure, units and other performance characteristics on Zircon. At hypersonic speeds, a high-temperature flow acts on the rocket. It causes the structure to heat up to several thousand degrees (moreover, the lower the flight altitude, the greater the load).

“One of the carriers of the Zircon missile should be the fifth-generation Husky submarine developed by the Malachite Marine Engineering Bureau”

At the same time, the Zircon should not only fly to a certain area, but, having found a target, overcome the enemy’s air defense. Against the background of electronic interference, the rocket must identify the desired object and be guaranteed to hit it. Hence the extremely high requirements. Taking into account the speed of the Zircon missile, its RLGSN must operate under maximum load conditions.

The navigation system of the rocket, which controls the flight on the marching section, is distinguished by accuracy and speed. In the final section of the trajectory, the target is identified by the radar homing head, which will be interfered with by false targets and electronic interference.

"Zircon" for a potential adversary is a goal that will not be able to cope not only with the air defense systems in service with a potential adversary, but also with promising ones, work on which is only underway.

A brief history of the creation of a hypersonic anti-ship missile

Let's restore the chronology of events in order to assess exactly what opportunities the Zircon missile gives the Russian Navy.

The first mentions in open sources about the creation of a missile system with a hypersonic anti-ship operational missile "Zirkon" 3K22 appeared in the media at the end of 2011. Later, the corporate newspaper of NPO Mashinostroeniya Tribuna VPK wrote that in 2011, a group of chief designers on the 3M22 topic was created in one of the directorates.

In 2011, the Central Institute of Aviation Motors from Lytkarino near Moscow showed hypersonic vehicles at the MAKS air show. At the institute's booth, mock-ups of rockets of an unusual shape were exhibited - 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 also announced, the creation was officially announced for the first time only now. By the way, the Indian company Brahmos announced work on hypersonic devices, demonstrating the layout of the same "platypus".

Interesting information is provided by the annual report of the Tactical Missiles Corporation Ural design and engineering Bureau "Detal"(one of the areas of his work is the development of radio altimeters). In 2011, on the topic "Zircon", a project 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 a radio altimeter, and ARC means an automatic radio compass.

In the same year NPO "Granit-Electron", a 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 report for 2011 of Orenburg Software "Strela"(producing 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 NPO Mashinostroeniya Corporation for 2012, the development of industrial production technology has begun laser and optoelectronic systems of the complex of transceivers 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, items on the creation of 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 super-holding on the basis of the Corporation for Tactical Missiles and NPO Machine Building, 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 with the Reutov NPOmash machine-building plant located in Dubna design bureau "Rainbow", which develops and produces air-launched missiles, including cruise missiles.

In the summer of 2012, at the training ground of the 929th Flight Research Center in Akhtubinsk, a hypersonic air-launched cruise missile was tested. The carrier of the missile was the Tu-22M3 bomber.

In September 2013, Boris Obnosov, head of the Corporation for Tactical Missiles, admitted that Russia had already tested products with a speed of about Mach 4.5.

Hypersonic missile and heavy cruiser upgrades

After 2013, information about the missiles of the 3K22 project again disappeared from open sources. In the fall of 2015, they started talking about the rocket in connection with the modernization of Admiral Nakhimov.

According to an agreement between PO "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 ongoing modernization of the heavy nuclear missile cruiser at the enterprise project 11442.

Carrying eighty hypersonic Zircons, Peter the Great will be capable of destroying not only a couple of attack aircraft carrier groups of a potential enemy, but the entire navy of such a power as Turkey in a matter of minutes.

According to reports, one of the carriers of the Zircon should be a fifth-generation submarine. "Husky", the development of which was started by the Marine Engineering Bureau "Malachite". As conceived by the developers, the latest nuclear submarine is designed on the same basic platform in two versions. First, multi-purpose, focused on combating enemy submarines. Secondly, anti-aircraft SSGN, armed with cruise missiles, including Zircons.

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, only five years passed. Probably, Zircon is based on technical solutions that are largely ready-made and tested.

"State tests of Zircon are planned to be completed in 2017 in accordance with the contract, and its mass production will begin next year," a defense industry representative said.

Cruise missiles "Zirkon" (3M22) are designed, first of all, to replace the heavy anti-ship missiles of the "Granit" complexes in the arsenal of the fleet and should be included in the armament of promising ships of the oceanic zone (missile cruisers) type "Leader" and modernized nuclear cruisers of project 1144 "Orlan".

According to channel sources, US intelligence reports say that Russia will be able to start mass 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 address to the Federal Assembly on 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, of course, gives serious advantages in the field of armed struggle. Its power, power, 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, in a simple way, simply cannot catch up with them. Russia has such weapons. We already have,” Putin said at the time, 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: tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile were successful Citing sources familiar with the US intelligence reports, CNBC reported that on December 10, 2018, another test of the Zircon ship-based hypersonic missile was conducted in Russia. According to the interlocutors of the TV channel, during the test, the rocket accelerated to a speed, in ...Sergei Sinenko Sergei Sinenko [email protected] Author In the middle of Russia

Rocket "Zircon" reached 8 speeds of sound

The Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missile reached eight speeds of sound in tests. TASS reports citing 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 source said.

The source of the agency also noted that Zircon missiles can be launched from 3S14 universal launchers, which are also used for Caliber and Onyx missiles. At the same time, the interlocutor of the agency did not specify when and from what platform the launch was carried out.

According to TASS sources, the Zircon is undergoing state tests this year. Adoption is expected in 2018.

The same interlocutor noted that the newest Russian multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the fifth generation of the Husky class, as well as the Russian heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, will be armed with Zircon missiles.

For the first time, statements about the start of development of a complex with a sea-based Zircon hypersonic cruise missile appeared in the media in February 2011. Tests of the Zircon rocket began in March 2016. They passed from the ground launch complex, since, apparently, the sea carriers were not ready.

The Zircon missile is being developed by NPO Mashinostroeniya (Reutov, Moscow Region) for the Russian Navy. It will implement the principle of the so-called motor hypersound.
Hypersound is speed above five Mach numbers. Mach 1 corresponds to the speed of sound - about 300 meters per second or 1,224 km / h.

Hypersonic missile "Zircon"

Zirkon (3M22) is a Russian hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, which is part of the 3K22 Zirkon complex. The fundamental difference of this missile is a significantly higher (Max 8) flight speed, both in comparison with other Russian anti-ship missiles, and with anti-ship missiles in service with other countries. At the beginning of 2017, there are no anti-aircraft missiles in the world capable of shooting down hypersonic targets. This missile is planned to replace the P-700 Granit heavy anti-ship missile. Zircon will also complement the latest Russian anti-ship missiles P-800 Onyx, Caliber (3M54), Kh-35 Uran.

Approximate performance characteristics:
- range 350-500 km.
- length 8-10 m.
- Mach 8 speed
- guidance: INS + ARLGLS

Possible carriers: TARKR "Admiral Nakhimov"; TARKR "Peter the Great" (during the modernization of 2019-2022); nuclear destroyers of project 23560 "Leader"; nuclear submarine project 885M "Ash-M"; Fifth-generation nuclear submarine "Husky" modified to destroy aircraft carrier strike groups.

In 2015, it became known that a fundamentally new fuel, Decilin-M, had already been created for hypersonic cruise missiles in Russia, which makes it possible to increase the range of strategic cruise missiles by 250–300 km.

According to Dmitry Bulgakov, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, "the recipe has already been created, and the energy that is accumulated in this fuel will allow our products to exceed the speed of Mach 5." The representative of the Ministry of Defense added that specialists have developed a number of rocket fuel components with the use of aluminum nanoparticles with a density and energy intensity increased by almost 20%. This allows you to increase the payload.

Forecasts and comments

In September 2016, Boris Obnosov, CEO of the Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), said that hypersonic weapons could appear in Russia "at the beginning of the next decade." “A number of projects are also being carried out with the Advanced Research Foundation under the Military Industrial Commission. Believe me, we already have interesting results in this area, ”said the head of KTRV and noted that when working on hypersonic projects, Russian scientists use the developments of the USSR - research projects Cold and Cold-2.

He stressed that “it would be simply impossible to make hypersonic weapons from scratch,” but today “technology has reached the required level.”

The difficulty, according to Obnosov, lies in the fact that no one knew how the speed of 8-10 Machs would affect the operation of the rocket. “Under such conditions, plasma is formed near the surface of the rocket, the temperature regimes are outrageous,” he said.

Comparison

In his article, military analyst, doctor of military sciences Konstantin Sivkov writes: “A comparison of the performance characteristics of Zircon and Standard-6 shows that our missile hits the border of the American missile defense zone in height and almost doubles the maximum speed of aerodynamic targets allowed for it - 1,500 versus 800 meters per second. Conclusion: the American Standard-6 cannot hit our "swallow". In general, it can be stated that Standard-6, the most effective missile defense system in the Western world, has meager opportunities to defeat Zircon.

The researcher emphasizes that “hypersonic AOS are also being intensively developed in the United States. But the Americans directed their main efforts to the creation of strategic hypersonic missiles. Data on the development in the United States of anti-ship hypersonic missiles like the Zircon is not yet available, at least in the public domain. Therefore, it can be assumed that the superiority of the Russian Federation in this area will last for quite a long time - up to 10 years or more.

China tested an ICBM equipped with a hypersonic gliding warhead detachable from the carrier back in 2014. At present, in addition to the United States, Russia and China, India is also developing high-tech hypersonic strategic weapons.

Soviet X-90

X-90 (US DOD classification: AS-X-21) - hypersonic cruise missile
Main tactical and technical characteristics:
- Weight = 15 t
- Speed, cruising = 4-5M
- Wingspan = 6.8-7 m
– Length = 8-9 m
- Launch range = 3000-3500 km (RMD-2)
- Number / power of the BB, pcs / kt \u003d 2/200

According to the designers, the machine quickly heated up from air resistance, which destroyed the device or rendered the mechanisms inside the case inoperable. To achieve hypersonics, a ramjet engine required hydrogen, or at least fuel consisting largely of hydrogen. And this is difficult to implement technically, since gaseous hydrogen has a low density. The storage of liquid hydrogen created other insurmountable technical difficulties. Also, during a hypersonic flight, a plasma cloud arose around the X-90, which burned the radio antennas, which led to a loss of control of the device.

These shortcomings have been corrected. The problem of cooling the hull and hydrogen fuel was solved by using a mixture of kerosene and water as its components. After heating, it was fed into a special catalytic mini-reactor, in which an endothermic reaction of catalytic conversion took place, as a result of which hydrogen fuel was produced. This process led to a strong cooling of the body of the apparatus. The problem of burning radio antennas was also solved, which began to be used as the plasma cloud itself.

At the same time, the plasma cloud allowed the device not only to move in the atmosphere at a speed of 5 km per second, but also to do it in “broken” trajectories. In addition, the plasma cloud also created the effect of invisibility of the apparatus for radar. The X-90 did not enter service; work on the missile was suspended back in 1992.