Weapons

Russia Has Tested Its Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile "Over Ten Test Launches"

Tsirkon is being manufactured in compliance with Russia’s Universal Vertical Launching System (UKSK), a seaborne missile launcher platform that notably includes the Russian “Caliber” and Russian-Indian “BrahMos” missiles. In fact, Tsirkon shares so much design and performance DNA with the latter that it could be considered as a fully Russian-made modernization of BrahMos.

Tsirkon’s top speed was previously reported to be around Mach 6 or 7,400 km per hour, but CNBC’s sources state that the recently tested Tsirkon missiles reached a top speed of Mach 8 or 9,800 kilometers per hour. It is unclear whether this discrepancy comes from technical improvements, different Tsirkon models being simultaneously developed and tested, or misstatements about Tsirkon’s performance.

These latest tests were conducted from a coastal platform. Trials from military vessels are scheduled for 2019: “We plan to start state trials of Zircon missiles from ships and submarines...trials will be held at marine training ranges of the Pacific Fleet," a source stated to Russian news.