In a message to the Federal Assembly, the president surprised Russians with the latest weapons

Vladimir Putin, in a message to the Federal Assembly, spoke about the country's latest weapons: the Sarmat strategic missile system, unlimited cruise missile, underwater drones, the Dagger aviation missile system, a hypersonic missile system with a planning winged unit and a combat laser system.

Sarmat missile system is being tested in Russia

In fact, Putin has officially confirmed the information that Russia is already testing the latest Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. The first time this was announced in December 2017 by Moskovsky Komsomolets, indirectly about the tests in January 2018 of the Ministry of Defense.

According to the newspaper, the first throw test "Sarmat", which took place at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region, was successful. It was noted that the silo launcher and missile worked normally, and the missile flew several tens of kilometers and fell within the range. The President noted that "no, even promising missile defense systems, are no obstacle for the Russian missile system." According to the developers, the Sarmat, carrying a payload of the order of ten tons, has a flight range of about 16 thousand kilometers, that is, it is capable of reaching the enemy along a ballistic trajectory passing through the South Pole, and is also capable of moving at ultra-low altitude.

Russia has created a small-sized heavy-duty nuclear power plant for a global cruise missile

In Russia, a “small-sized heavy-duty nuclear power plant, which is located in the wing of a cruise missile”, has been created and provides a flight range that is ten times longer than other missiles. "A low-flying, inconspicuous cruise missile carrying a nuclear warhead, with an almost unlimited range, an unpredictable flight path and the ability to bypass intercepting lines is invulnerable to all existing and promising missile defense and air defense systems," Putin said.

In fact, we are talking here about devices flying at high speed and low altitude - non-ballistic types of strategic weapons against which traditional missile defense systems are not effective. We already knew about similar developments in the country earlier, for example, only in February 2018 already about the work on creating a low-altitude supersonic long-range unmanned complex that could fly like a cruise missile. However, then it was a drone, and nothing was said about its power plant.

Frame: Russia 24 / YouTube

Russia has begun to create an unmanned underwater vehicle “Status-6”

In addition to airborne cruise missiles, an innovative nuclear power plant will receive a new underwater drone capable of moving at extra-large depths with unlimited range. “I would say, at a very great depth and at intercontinental range, at a speed several times higher than the speed of submarines, the most modern torpedoes and all kinds of even the fastest surface ships,” Putin said. The head of state added that such drones have low noise and high maneuverability, and "there are simply no means that can resist them in the world today."

Putin said that "the results of the tests gave us the opportunity to begin to create a fundamentally new type of strategic weapon equipped with high-power nuclear ammunition." In fact, here we are talking about the Status-6 submarine - weapons mass destruction, to destroy the objects of the enemy’s economy. The development of such weapons underway in Russia in conditions of high secrecy first became known in November 2015. Experts suggest that in its most lethal version, Status-6 will be a cobalt bomb with a capacity of about one hundred megatons, the detonation of which off the coast of the United States will lead to powerful tsunamis that destroy big cities (New York and Los Angeles) and the subsequent radiation damage to the territory they occupy, making them unsuitable for human life.

Frame: Channel One

Russia has a “Dagger”

“In December last year, the complex began to carry out pilot combat duty at the airfields of the Southern Military District. The unique flight performance of a high-speed carrier aircraft allows delivering a rocket to a drop-off point in a matter of minutes, while a rocket flying at a hypersonic speed exceeding the speed of sound by a factor of ten also maneuvers in all parts of the flight path. It also allows her to overcome all existing and, I think, promising air defense and missile defense systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads to the target at a distance of up to two thousand kilometers, ”Putin said about the new Dagger complex, which includes a hypersonic-carrying aircraft. a rocket.

Russia has a hypersonic missile system with a planning winged block

The president also announced the tests of the Avangard, a hypersonic missile system with a planning winged unit, which “is distinguished by the ability to fly in dense layers of the atmosphere to an intercontinental range, at a hypersonic speed exceeding the Mach number by more than 20 times.” According to Putin, “he goes to the goal, like a meteorite, like a fireball, the temperature on the surface of the product is 1600-2000 degrees Celsius,” and “the winged unit is reliably controlled.” The head of state notes that such characteristics of the complex were ensured by the use of composite materials.

Russian military receive combat laser systems

“So, significant results have been achieved in the creation of laser weapons, and this is not just a theory or projects, and not even just the start of production. Since last year, military laser systems have already entered the troops. I do not want to go into details in this part, it’s just not the time. But experts will understand that the presence of such combat systems expands Russia's capabilities in its security sphere, ”Putin said. Thus, the president actually confirmed the recent one that the country had completed the creation of a laser complex designed to suppress airborne and space reconnaissance vehicles from an aircraft.

Hypersonic technologies that have embodied in russian rocket Zircon is a new word in the military sphere. This fact is recognized by both Russian and foreign experts. Zircon managed to achieve the highest technological effectiveness. And let the project be classified, we already know about successful trials.

Judging by the declared characteristics, the main trump card of this weapon is speed. About 8 M, this is more than 9000 km / h, which were recorded at the peak of the trajectory - this is a guarantee that it is absolutely impossible to intercept a missile with existing means of defense.

History of hypersonic rockets

The era of hypersonic missiles can be counted from the advent of the first prototypes. Nazi Germany already led such developments, but, obviously, the technologies were not developed enough to prepare a successful solution. Hypersound has always attracted the attention of the world's leading military powers. The possession of such weapons guaranteed a significant advantage in any possible conflict.

The first successes had to wait a long time. Soviet Union received a successful project only in the 80s of the twentieth century. The X-90 GEL rocket was able to reach about 3,000 km / h. But the development was urgently curtailed due to the collapse of the country and the disastrous lack of budget.

X-90 GELA turned out to be a very successful weapon.

She could carry two nuclear warheads, due to the plasma cloud forming around her - to remain invisible to detection systems. The main trump cards - a speed of 2.5 M and the ability to maneuver - made intercepting a rocket a very difficult task. Recall that the speed M is the Mach speed, or Mach number. In fact, this is the speed of sound propagation, it is different for different heights: at the ground it is 1224 km / h, at an altitude of 20 km - 1062 km / h

The second round of development of hypersonic weapons started in a new country, Russia. Presumably, tests began to be carried out in the mid-00s. Already in 2011, the project began to be finalized and improved. The new rocket was called 3K22 Zircon. Tests and improvements were quick enough. It took only a few years, from 2012 to the end of 2013. Already in 2016, it was announced that the project was recognized as successful and will enter service.

The main difficulties at hypersonic speeds

Hypersonic and supersonic technologies have been developing for so long for the simple reason that their implementation required the latest ideas and unique engineering solutions.

Today anti-ship missiles are used everywhere, which have a speed of 3-4 thousand km / h or 2.5-3 M. But such winged weapons have their drawbacks. So, they are launched in the direction of the target, deprived of the ability to effectively maneuver. Rockets gain great height, which almost immediately allows them to detect and calculate the trajectory of movement. The attacked object has more chances to successfully leave the affected area.

Higher speeds (which Zircon is currently developing) have led to understandable difficulties.

Flights even in the upper atmosphere (about 20 km) with more than 3 M speeds were marked by the appearance of a thermal barrier. Due to air resistance, the main parts were subjected to severe heat. So, the air intakes reached 3000С, and other parts even with excellent streamlining qualities were heated up to 2500.

During the tests, it became clear that:

• duralumin elements quite widely used in aviation strongly lose strength by 2300;
• at 5200, titanium and its alloys begin to deform;
• at 6500, the melting of magnesium and aluminum begins, even heat-resistant steel significantly loses in its rigidity.

If we talk about a flight altitude of less than 20 km (which would lead to difficulties in detection and interception), then the heating of the skin would reach 10,000 ° C, which no known metal can withstand. Temperature is the main problem of hypersonic speeds.

Even if you do not take into account the huge heating of the metal and the parts necessary for guidance, the fuel begins to boil and decompose, losing its properties.

The problem could be solved using hydrogen. But in liquid form, it is quite dangerous and difficult to store. And in gaseous form it occupies a large volume and has a low efficiency. Serious and lengthy development was required by an antenna operating at a radio frequency. Classic signal receivers certainly burnt in a matter of seconds in hypersonic flight. The lack of communication with the center would lead to the uncontrollability of weapons and the loss of very important advantages.

Hypersonic rocket "Zircon"

The solutions used on the Zircon hypersonic rocket were tested on the X-90 GELA. Then unique developments allowed to significantly increase the maximum speed of the new media. For example, in order to catch a radio signal, they began to use the plasma cloud that formed in flight.

In order to reduce the heating of all parts of the rocket, it was decided to use fuel with a high hydrogen content with impurities of water and kerosene. The bottom line was that the mixture was heated and fed into a mini-reactor, where hydrogen was released for acceleration. The reaction itself was accompanied by a decrease in temperature, which made it possible to cool the shell and parts. All these ideas made it possible to come close to achieving even supersonic.

Known technical characteristics of 3K22 Zircon

The speed of the Zircon allows it to freely bypass all the existing missile defense and air defense systems. In support of these words, data are provided from open sources that advanced US missile defense systems respond to an object in 8-10 seconds. Obviously, the Zircon, even at marching speed, will overcome 15-20 km during this time and turn into an unattainable goal. It will not work either to catch up, not to intercept.

Little is known about rocket weapons. However, today Zircon is positioned as a complex of anti-ship missiles. Probably its main goals will be well-fortified aircraft carriers. Hence the second name - "the killer of aircraft carriers."

Design and where will Zircon be used

The Zircon rocket was kept a closely guarded secret for a long time. And today, very few people managed to see this weapon with their own eyes. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that the length of the rocket reaches 8 ... 10 m. It has a tail unit, as well as fairings in the middle part.

A characteristic feature can be called the nose, which is a flattened fairing, extending to the sides.

It is planned to replace the P-700 Granite complex with hypersonic missiles. To date, they and carriers of the Onyx, Caliber type have armed the flagships of the fleet - Admiral Nakhimov and Peter the Great. After their reconstruction, it is likely that the Zircons will constitute the basis of the armament.

Already in 2018, “Admiral Nakhimov” should undergo a complete modernization. "Peter the Great" - in 2022. New projects are also being calculated for arming the Zircons.
These include:

• atomic destroyers of the Leader project;

submarines of projects 885M "Ash-M" and "Husky".

For the possible number of missiles, it is planned to install up to 60 Zircons on the Admiral Nakhimov and Peter the Great ships.

Hypersonic projects in the USA and other countries

Leading analysts of the world admit that Russia succeeded in practically impossible, having overcome the speed of 7 M. Until recently, such an acceleration was considered unattainable. Zircon flies at a speed of 8 M.

Zircon competitors

The main competitor of Zircon is the US AHW project, which is capable of accelerating to 7.5 Mach. He, like the Russian development, is a secret. It is only known that his tests pass with varying success. For 2011, of two launches, one ended in an explosion. In 2014, the Americans allegedly also failed.

Another direction - rockets X-43A and X-51 Wave Ryder give out 9.65 and 5.1 M, respectively. But the first tests showed that the engine on the X-43 worked for no more than 11 seconds, and on the X-51 - 6 minutes. China is imposing serious competition between Russia and the USA. China is developing a project DF-ZF. It is believed that the speed of the rocket ranges from 5 ... 10 M. A serious advantage of the Chinese is that they plan to develop hypersonic weapons for installation on aircraft.

The future of the 3K22 project with a successful implementation is obvious.

If this super-secret project really produces the declared characteristics in terms of speed and range, then this type of weapon was ahead of its time by decades. Experts believe that the most advanced powers will be able to level the virtues of Zircon not earlier than in 30 ... 50 years.

The adopted missiles will provide Russia's advantage at sea. Based on board the submarines, they will defend the nearest borders of our country, threatening large naval formations of the enemy.

Video

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation indirectly confirmed the existence of work on the creation of hypersonic striking means: a message appeared on the website of the military department that within the framework of the armament program for 2018–2025, “completion of development and delivery to the troops of fundamentally new types of hypersonic weapons, intelligent robotic systems, weapons for new physical principles, as well as a number of traditional models of the next generation of WWIS. ”This was a kind of commentary to a TASS agency on Saturday that during the testing of the latest Russian Zircon rocket, a speed of eight Machs was reached - nine thousand kilometers per hour. Neither TASS, nor even the Ministry of Defense clarified the details of the tests. There are more than enough explanations for the closure of the Zircon program. Hypersound is one of the main fetishes of the ongoing competition between Russia and the USA in the field of creating advanced military technologies. The Mach number, or M, determines the ratio of the local flow velocity to the speed of sound - 331 m / s. Exceeding the speed of sound by six, eight, ten times is one of the global tasks of the development of modern aircraft and rocket science. From a military point of view, hypersonic aircrafts - extremely effective percussion product. Hypersonic flight is indistinguishable for modern means radar. There is no and is not even expected to create a means of intercepting such missiles. In the United States, this is linked to the implementation of the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) program, which will allow the US military to deliver precision strikes against any region of the world within 60 minutes from the moment decision making. For us, this is an opportunity to fend off this threat with weapons that can reach any goal at the same speed in the World Ocean or in America. In August 2014, the Americans launched the X-43A hypersonic missile from the Kodiak range in Alaska. Having gained a speed of about 6.5 thousand km / h, after seven seconds of operation, the device burned out in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, Washington called this flight a success: the machine demonstrated the ability to gain the required acceleration. In December 2015, an NGO of mechanical engineering, followed by the Ministry of Defense, also reported “about testing a rocket” at a training ground near Arkhangelsk.
Which one, managers of the joint Russian-Indian venture BrahMos Aerospace Limited have already reported. Taking as a basis the Russian supersonic missile P-800 Onyx / Yakhont, the company created its Indian counterpart BrahMos. A company spokesman, Pravin Patak, said that the hypersonic BraMos-2 was created and is being tested in India. It is easy to assume that if there is an Indian, that is, a Russian version of such a missile. This can be judged by even earlier information in the corporate newspaper of NPO Mashinostroeniya "Tribune of the VPK", which reported that back in 2011 a group of chief designers was created in one of the directorates on the topic 3M22 - an interspecific missile system with a hypersonic anti-ship operational missile "Zircon ".
So what is Zircon? You can judge this by the information of all the same BrahMos Aerospace Limited. At one of the international exhibitions, they showed the BraMos-2 model: a flattened shovel nose, chopped forms of the case itself. The missile is two-stage: the first is a powder accelerator, the second is a liquid engine. The honorary general director and honorary general designer of OAO VPK NPO Mashinostroyeniya, professor at Bauman Moscow State Technical University Herbert Efremov in his interview with Izvestia explained that the “chopped forms” and “shovel-shaped nose ”products are necessary to ensure normal burning rate of fuel in the engine. In hypersonic flight, it is impossible to ensure this process without reducing the speed of the air entering the combustion chamber to a supersonic threshold. Therefore, as the designer noted, only liquid-propellant engines can provide a long hypersonic flight. The TASS report and the Defense Ministry comment nothing about the test parameters during which eight Machs were achieved. Did this flight take a second or a minute, what distance did the car fly, was this flight controlled, or not? The shroud of mystery remains over Zircon. Although it is already known that a number russian ships received universal launchers of the "revolver type" 3C-14. They are intended for the deployment and launch of anti-ship cruise missiles 3M-55 "Onyx" and long-range 3M-54 "Caliber". Zircon is replacing them, from which it can be concluded that in 2018 several types of Russian surface, submarine ships and coastal missile systems will receive a new missile at once.
It can be heavy atomic cruisers of the 1144th project of the Orlan type. The head cruiser of this project, Admiral Nakhimov, is already on modernization at the Severodvinsk Zvezdochka enterprise. According to Deputy Minister of Defense Yuri Borisov, a decision was made to upgrade four of the eight submarines of Project 949 that are part of the Navy’s Navy to accommodate Onyx and Caliber.
Work will take place at the Zvezda Far Eastern plant, located in Bolshoy Kamen Bay. Launching launchers located on the sides of the submarines of the Granit supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles (NATO SS-N-19 Shipwreck classification - “Shipwreck”) will be replaced by new launchers. This will allow not only increasing the ammunition of the ship from 24 to 72 missiles, but also placing new weapons on it. By analogy with the surface and submarine cruisers, the Zircon will also be armed with the Bastion coastal missile systems with Onyx missiles. There is no doubt that the Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace Limited is integrating the new missile into the armament of the Su-30MKI fighter. Tests of the machine with the BrahMos rocket began last year.

Zircon rocket reaches 8 sound speeds

The hypersonic anti-ship missile Zircon reached eight speeds of sound in trials. 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 8 Machs,” the agency’s source said.

The agency’s source also noted that Zircon missiles can be launched from universal launchers 3C14, which are also used for caliber and onyx missiles. At the same time, the interlocutor of the agency did not specify when and from which platform the launch was carried out.

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

The same interlocutor noted that the Zirkon missiles will be armed with the latest Russian fifth-generation Husky-class nuclear submarines (nuclear submarines), as well as the Peter the Great, Russian heavy nuclear missile cruiser.

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

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

Hypersonic rocket "Zircon"

Zircon (3M22) - Russian hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, which is part of the 3K22 Zircon complex. The fundamental difference between this missile is its significantly higher (8 Mach) 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 in the world does not exist anti-aircraft missilescapable of shooting down hypersonic targets. It is planned to replace the P-700 Granite heavy anti-ship missile with this missile. Zircon will also complement the latest Russian anti-ship missiles P-800 Onyx, Caliber (3M54), X-35 Uranus.

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

Possible carriers: TARKR “Admiral Nakhimov”; TARKR "Peter the Great" (during the modernization of 2019-2022); nuclear destroyers of the project 23560 "Leader"; Nuclear submarine of project 885M "Ash-M"; Fifth-generation submarine Husky in the modification for the destruction of aircraft carrier strike groups.

In 2015, it became known that for hypersonic cruise missiles in Russia a fundamentally new fuel, Decilin-M, had already been created, which allows increasing 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 5 Machs." The representative of the Ministry of Defense added that experts have developed using aluminum nanoparticles a number of rocket fuel components 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, general director of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation (KTRV), stated that hypersonic weapons could appear in Russia “at the beginning of the next decade.” “A number of projects are underway with the Advanced Research Foundation under the Military-Industrial Commission. Believe me, we already have interesting results in this area, ”the head of KTRV said and noted that when working on hypersonic projects, Russian scientists use the achievements of the USSR - R&D“ Kholod ”and“ Kholod-2 ”.

He emphasized 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, is that no one knew how the speed rocket in Machs 8-10 would affect the work of a missile. “Under such conditions, plasma forms near the surface of the rocket, the temperature regimes are beyond limits,” he said.

Comparison

In his article, military analyst, doctor of military sciences Konstantin Sivkov writes: “Comparison of the performance characteristics of Zircon and Standard 6 shows that our missile hits the border of the American missile range in height and almost doubles the maximum speed allowed for it by aerodynamic targets - 1,500 versus 800 meters per second. Conclusion: the American “Standard-6” cannot hit our “swallow”. On the whole, it can be stated that “Standard-6” has the most effective missiles in the Western world, the meager possibilities of defeating “Zircon.”

The researcher emphasizes that “in the USA, hypersonic IOS is also being intensively developed. But the Americans directed their main efforts at creating hypersonic strategic missiles. Data on the development in the United States of anti-ship hypersonic missiles, such as Zircon, is not yet available, at least in the public domain. Therefore, we can assume that the superiority of the Russian Federation in this area will last quite a long time - up to 10 years or more. ”

China made the tests of an ICBM equipped with a detachable planning hypersonic warhead in 2014. Currently high-tech hypersonic strategic weapon in addition to the USA, Russia and China, India is also developing.

Soviet X-90

X-90 (according to the classification of the US Defense Ministry: AS-X-21) - hypersonic cruise missile
The main performance characteristics:
- Weight \u003d 15 t
- Speed, cruising \u003d 4-5M
- Wingspan \u003d 6.8-7 m
- Length \u003d 8-9 m
- Launch range \u003d 3000-3500 km (RMD-2)
- Number / power of BB, pcs / ct \u003d 2/200

According to the designers, the car was quickly heated by air resistance, which destroyed the device or rendered inoperative mechanisms inside the case. To achieve hypersound for a ramjet rocket engine, hydrogen, or at least a fuel consisting essentially of hydrogen, was required. And this is difficult to accomplish technically, since gaseous hydrogen has a low density. The storage of liquid hydrogen created other insurmountable technical difficulties. Also, during a hypersonic flight around the X-90, a plasma cloud appeared that burned radio antennas, which led to a loss of controllability of the device.

These flaws have been fixed. The problem of cooling the hull and hydrogen fuel was solved by the fact that a mixture of kerosene and water was used 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 generated. This process led to strong cooling of the apparatus body. The problem of burning radio antennas was also solved, in which the plasma cloud itself was used.

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

The presentation of the latest Russian 3M22 Zircon cruise missile on March 17, 2016, despite the silence of most of the media, did not go unnoticed by the expert community and the military. Immediately there were assumptions regarding the tactical and technical characteristics of the new brainchild of Rosoboronprom. Preliminary test data gave reason to believe that in the near future the arsenal of the Russian Navy and naval aviation could receive a completely new and powerful weapon. These missiles are supposed to rearm the TARKR project 1144 type "Orlan", to equip the cruisers of the project "Leader" and submarines of the type "Husky" under construction.

The history of the latest rocket

The data obtained during the tests indicate that the Russian defense industry managed to create a combat cruise missile that reached hypersonic speed (5-6 times higher than the speed of sound). The 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile turns modern air defense systems into a pile of waste rubbish.

The emergence of the latest superweapon has its own background, consisting of a chain of important facts. Work on the creation of a rocket capable of flying at hypersonic speeds was carried out in the USSR in the mid-70s. Back in the 70s, the Dubna Design Bureau "Rainbow" was developing the X-90 cruise missile, capable of flying at a speed of 3-4 M in flight. However, with the collapse of the Union due to lack of funding, the work was curtailed. Only 20 years later, they returned to this topic, but on the basis of new technologies.

The first information about the development of a new anti-ship complex equipped with cruise missile-tactical missiles appeared at the end of 2011.

The development of a prototype of a hypersonic missile was carried out by the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (TsIAM) in the city of Lytkarino, Moscow Region.

Presented at the exhibition stands, the RCC model was very different in its form from the cigar-shaped cruise missiles familiar to everyone. It was a box-shaped case with a flattened shovel-shaped fairing. At the air show for the first time, the name of the unusual missile system, Zircon, was also announced.

In parallel with this, the latest radio altimeter and automatic radio compass were developed. The research and production enterprise "Granit-Electron" was actively engaged in the creation of navigation equipment and autopilot systems.

The parent company Strela, which manufactures Onyx anti-ship systems, announced the start of preparations for the production base for the latest cruise missile. According to many sources, the latest weapons system will be able to radically change the situation at sea. However, after the MAKS air show, almost all information about progress on the Zircon topic disappeared from public information resources.

The scarce information leaking into the media was clearly insufficient. And only by the scale of involvement of the largest specialized enterprises in the Zircon project could one judge the properties of this project.

What surprised the world

After the first tests, it became clear that the new missile is capable of flying twice as fast as the latest British sea-based cruise missile Sea Ceptor. The anti-missiles currently in service with the NATO fleets are able to successfully combat Granit anti-ship missiles and similar aircraft, whose speed reaches 2000-2500 km / h. Western missile defense systems are powerless against the latest Russian development. The flight range of the Russian anti-ship missile will be approximately 300-400 km, which is quite sufficient for the effective destruction of ships outside the radio contact establishment zone.

As it became known later, the Zircon missiles became a modernized version of the Indian sea-based cruise missile Bramos, which was created jointly by the two countries. Basis for development latest weapons became the anti-ship complex P-800 Onyx. The emphasis in developing a rocket was on its high speed. According to experts, the new generation of high-speed anti-ship missiles is a big problem for air defense systems. The time to detect a projectile flying towards the target is extremely short in order not only to qualify the type of threat, but also to take adequate countermeasures.

The Russian nuclear-powered cruisers of Project 1144, re-equipped with the latest cruise missiles, will again become a real threat to the rule of the American Navy on the seas. Initially, it is planned to equip the modernized TARKR Admiral Nakhimov with new missile systems. Later the same fate awaits the flagship of the Northern Fleet TARKR "Peter the Great". The plans include the construction of Husky-type nuclear strike submarines armed with hypersonic cruise missiles, which will radically shift the balance of world naval forces towards the Russian fleet.

The main technical subtleties and nuances in creating a new generation rocket

The need for a new anti-ship missile did not arise immediately. The P-600 Granite and P-800 Onyx missile systems in service with the fleet continue to remain a formidable force today. However, developers of ultramodern means of naval air defense do not waste time. According to experts in the field of operational-tactical weapons, in a couple of years the combat capabilities of sea-based cruise missiles will be exhausted in view of the effectiveness of the missile defense of ships.

In this regard, the idea arose of a substantial modernization of the Russian Navy with new types of weapons. One of the directions of the process was the development of a new anti-ship complex with high-speed cruise missiles. The presence of such weapons on large and small ships of the fleet will become an effective instrument of deterrence at sea. The new 3M22 missile has unique tactical and technical characteristics, but there is no exact data on them yet. Even preliminary data say that new weapons are a serious step towards the emergence of new types and types of weapons.

Why is the new Russian rocket called hypersonic? The fact is that today shock missiles have an average flight speed of 2-2.5 MAX. The new development should fly at a speed of at least 4,500 km / h, exceeding the sound barrier 5-6 times. To create such a rapid projectile is not an easy task. Even at the stage of the project, difficulties arose in how to achieve the necessary acceleration of the rocket. The use of traditional rocket engines for these purposes should have no effect.

Devices flying at supersonic speeds are fundamentally different from devices flying at hypersonic speeds. A conventional turbojet engine loses traction after triple exceeding the speed of sound - the main indicator of the efficiency of an aircraft engine. Neither liquid nor solid propellant engines are suitable for such weapons as cruise missiles. The missile performs certain evolutions during the flight, which cannot be achieved by operating marching rocket engines and turbojet engines with constant thrust.

The result of scientific and technical research was a ramjet engine capable of operating under supersonic combustion conditions. For these purposes, it was even developed the new kind Decilin-M rocket fuel with increased energy intensity.

During the flight of a rocket in airspace at an altitude of 50-200 meters, the shell of the projectile heats up to high temperaturesTherefore, in the manufacture of the product new heat-resistant alloys were used.

For reference: The first American hypersonic aircraft "Valkyrie" developed a speed of up to 3200 km / h. The glider of the aircraft was made of titanium. Using such expensive metal for mass production of rockets was impractical and expensive.

It was no less difficult to solve the problem of homing missiles at high speeds. Unlike the well-known aeroballistic combat systems capable of flying at hypersonic speeds and at altitudes of up to 100 km, a cruise missile has a different field of application. The main flight of the rocket occurs in dense layers of the atmosphere. Unlike ballistic missiles, KR has a gentle flight path and a shorter range. All these requirements pose new challenges for weapons developers.

In flight at hypersonic speed due to the appearance of a plasma cloud around a flying projectile, a natural distortion of target designation parameters appears. It was decided to install the perfect electronic equipment on the new rocket, capable of guiding the projectile to the target at high speed, despite the counteraction of powerful electromagnetic fields.

Top Naval Leadership Plans for Combat Capabilities

The rocket was first launched at the flight test site in Aktyubinsk in 2012. The launch was carried out on board the strategic missile carrier Tu-22M3. Further launches were carried out from ground launchers. The set of basic tests is already coming to an end. There are still flaws in the operation of the propulsion system and the guidance system, but this, according to the creators of the rocket, can be eliminated in the near future. Preparations are underway to launch new weapons in a series.

The High Naval Command believes that one Peter the Great TARKR, armed with Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles, will be able to stand alone against the whole combat unit ships of the probable enemy. At coastal maritime theaters, Russian warships of small and middle class equipped with the latest missile will be able to control the entire water area. In terms of range and speed of the Russian missile, there are no analogues either in the Turkish Navy or in the fleets of the Baltic Sea countries.

The situation is similar with the re-equipment of the ships of the Pacific Fleet. The new weapons will significantly enhance the operational and tactical capabilities of Pacific Fleet ships on Pacific ocean. In a way, this will create a reliable bridgehead to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Far Eastern borders against a real threat.

Finally

The latest developments of Russian designers have puzzled the defense departments of the United States, Britain and China, who assess the appearance of the latest hypersonic missiles as a potential threat to their Navy. Today, the technical equipment of the Russian fleet with operational-tactical weapons is in a satisfactory condition, however, constant technological progress leads to the rapid obsolescence of the combat potential of the modern fleet. Just yesterday, the powerful Granit cruise missiles scared American admirals, but today the missile weapons of Russian ships are already in need of improvement.

The hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon" in its parameters is significantly ahead of time. The technologies that formed the design of the industrial design are years ahead of the technological level of armament and equipment of the fleet. New submarines designed at the Malachite Design Bureau are being developed as combat platforms for the new generation of weapons.

Do not neglect the fact that the new frigates and corvettes, which today represent the basis of the Russian Navy, will continue to be armed with hypersonic missiles.

In China, similar developments are also moving rapidly. The latest Chinese anti-ship missile DF-21 with a flight range of up to 3,000 km, can go into service with the PLA Navy for 2-3 years. The Americans are trying to keep up with Russia and China, working on the X-51A X-51 Wave Rider project. This hypersonic missile should not be inferior to Russian and Chinese development.

Things did not get to the real flight of the American brainchild. China only plans to complete work by 2020. At the operational-tactical level, the Russian hypersonic missile already has a real shape in the metal, has been tested and is preparing for serial production. What will be the fate of the latest weapons, time will tell. Nevertheless, the modernization of the Russian fleet and the re-equipment of ships will begin in the near future.

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