Russian Nuclear Submarines To Be Equipped With Zircon Hypersonic Missiles – Firepower and Maneuverability, Five Times Faster Than Sound

The War in the Ukraine has showcased the vibrant and fast-adapting Russian military industrial complex, that reinvented itself in just a few months, achieving superiority in the production of all kinds of equipments: tanks, drones, artillery, aircraft, ammunition – and missiles.

Now if surfaces that the nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines of the Yasen class are being equipped with the new, 5 times faster than sound, Zircon missiles.

Reuters reported:

“Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia’s largest shipbuilder told the RIA state news agency. […]

‘Multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will be equipped with the Zircon missile system on a regular basis’, Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told RIA.

‘Work in this direction is already underway’.”

The Yasen-class submarines, also known as Project 885M, were built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines and modernize the fleet.

“The sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 km (560 miles), and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them.”

The Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov has been already equipped with Zircon missiles.

The sheer speed of the missiles and the relative quietness of the launch platform will further complicate NATO’s efforts to develop countermeasures.

Hypersonic weapons, are a way to gain an edge over enemy defenses, because of their speed and maneuverability.

Stars and Stripes reported:

“In January, the Zircon system was first deployed on the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which was bound for the Atlantic and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.

Weeks later, Putin said Russia would start mass production of Zircon missiles as part of efforts to boost the country’s nuclear forces.

A U.S. Congressional Research Service report on hypersonic weapons published in February said Russia and China were designing hypersonic missiles to be used with nuclear warheads.

The U.S. and Japan are expected to announce an agreement in the coming days to jointly develop missile interceptors for hypersonic weapons, in light of a growing threat from North Korea, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.”

The arming of the subs with the new missiles is part of a larger effort to re-equip the Russian fleet.

Sputnik reported:

“The nuclear submarines of the Yasen class are currently equipped with the Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles and the Fizik-type torpedoes.

The Russian Navy will also receive at least five more ships by the end of the year, Rakhmanov told Sputnik.

‘This year, we have already commissioned three new ships and repaired one. By the end of the year, we expect to transfer at least five more ships’, he added.”

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