Russia, led by President Putin, has stolen a march on USA by developing a hypersonic missile.
Russia’s 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile is expected to enter into production in 2018.
The new weapon—which is capable of speeds of around Mach 6 is currently in testing.
The term hypersonic technically refers to, speeds faster than five times the speed of sound.
Let us now go into the details.
The missile weights 5 tons.
It is equipped with a Scramjet engine type, which compresses air before it enters the
combustion chamber.
Only dynamic compression obtained via the intake device is used.
The acceleration is carried out via a reactive solid booster, with a Scramjet used as the main engine.
The Scramjet is an innovation on the Ramjet, in which the combustion chamber is specially
designed to operate with supersonic airflow.
Ramjet engine powers the Indo Russian Brahmos supersonic cruise missile that can travel
at speeds of 2.8 to 3 Mach.
Scramjet is simply an acronym for 'supersonic combustion' Ramjet.
Zircon has a speed of Mach 6.2 (6,500 km/h) at a cruising altitude of 30,000 m (98,425 feet).
So it is much faster than a bullet fired from a sniper rifle, actually twice the speed of a sniper’s bullet
The kinetic energy alone will rip a ship apart like a tin can.
The range is around 400km (250 miles).
Some sources say it could be up to 1000 km (620 miles).
The Zircon will have both radar target seeker and an optical-electronic complex, to trace
and detect targets.
The missile could be equipped with a High Explosive (HE) warhead or even a tactical nuclear warhead.
Admiral Nakhimov, the nuclear-powered Kirov class Project 1144 battle cruiser, undergoing
a refit, will be the first warship of the Russian Navy to be armed with Zircon when
it returns to service in 2018.
It will be followed by Pyotr Veliky, a sister ship, expected to complete its overhaul in 2022.
The missile will also have submarine and air launched version.
Submarine launched version could be used with Russia’s existing fleet of conventional
and nuclear submarines like the Project 855M Yasen-class, and the upcoming Husky-class submarines.
Air launched version could be carried by the Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack, and the developmental
Tupolev PAK-DA stealth bomber.
The combination of these multiple launch platforms with hypersonic cruise missiles, would be
a dangerous threat to the U.S. and its allies.
Military experts warn the weapon has changed the face of modern warfare.
Most expert believe, the enemy will not have enough time to get scared, let alone react
to it, and there is no system currently capable of intercepting this missile.
Admiral Cecil Haney, the head of US Strategic Command, warned that American anti-missile
and anti-aircraft defense systems would be virtually incapable of intercepting Zircon.
Captain (ret.) Jerry Hendrix, a defense analyst for the Washington-based Center for a New American Security,
“Zircon would force US Navy carrier strike groups (CSGs) to stay hundreds or even thousands
of kilometers from the enemy's coast, which would make strikes from their carrier-based
aircraft against ground targets ineffective”.