3M22 Zircon Hypersonic Cruise Missile

Shoigu announced the start of mass production of "Zircons"

Shoigu announced the start of mass production of hypersonic missiles "Zircon"

August 20, 2022, 20: 15

Russia is starting mass production of hypersonic Zircon missiles, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on August 20.

According to the minister, these missiles are actually put into service.

"We are starting mass production of Zircon missiles. We have actually put it into service. This year it will already be documented, " he said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel on the sidelines of the Army 2022 forum.

https://iz.ru/1382610/2022-08-20/shoigu-obiavil-o-nachale-seriinogo-proizvodstva-tcirkonov

The real news IMHO is that the missile is in operation already, this is the first official statement in that regard.

First production scramjet in history. A nice feather in Russia's cap.

TMA1 wrote:First production scramjet in history. A nice feather in Russia's cap.

With the speed, it does not need to carry any warhead...

TMA1 wrote:First production scramjet in history. A nice feather in Russia's cap.

We're about hear cope that russia is lying, and that its actually just a reskinned onyx. Given the honesty about delays of the zirkon and S-500, I believe the russians are lying less about it compared t the disaster which is the Su-57 "mass production" or the kurganets, altius, hermes and armata eternal prototypes.

It will be nothing to the spuge coming from western fanbois if a Zircon is shot down or misses its target... they will be difficult to defeat but nothing is impossible...

The sky will be falling and the US will be a super power again... for five minutes.

Arrow wrote:

Yes, it's very interesting especially since everyone assumes that Cirkon is in the shape of the Waverider concept that is characteristic of hypersonic designs. The X-51 technology demonstrator had a similar concept. If Cirkon has really round inlets, it's a big surprise. Holod has also been tested with round inlets.

Looking at the photo from the last test of the 3M22 missile, although the quality is poor, you can see that the missile is not made in the Waverider aerodynamic technology?

It's not just the Waverider itself from back in the 90s

The Brahmos-2 mock-up shown off by the Brahmos corporation also had the Waverider shape. And it's a fair bet that any Brahmos-2 will be developed from the Zirkon just as the Brahmos-1 was developed from the Onyx

So either the Zirkon has undergone a complete redesign since the Brahmos-2 mock-up, that mock-up was just someone's fantasy, or the pic is not clear enough to determine the shape of the Zirkon.

Edit: old video removed.

Old video from the last test from the beginning of the year.

Arrow wrote:Old video from the last test from the beginning of the year.

Are you sure? I have never seen this version before, can you post the old video so we can compare?

Thanks, old video removed.

November 4, 01:35

Russia has developed a mobile launcher for the Zircon hypersonic missile

The launcher will carry two missiles

MOSCOW, 4 November. /TASS/. Enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex have developed and manufactured in hardware a mobile launcher of a coastal missile system (BRK) with the latest Zirkon hypersonic missile. This was reported to TASS by a source close to the military department.

"A prototype of a mobile launcher for a coastal missile system with a Zircon hypersonic missile has already been created. As in the case of the Bastion missile defense system, the launcher will carry two missiles," he said.

According to the interlocutor of the agency, as in the Bastion complex with the Onyx missile, the launcher of the new complex is four-axle.

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/16245291

So only the surface Cirkon launchers are able to protect a large part of the seas surrounding Russia

Vzglyad

Experts: Russia has taken a new step in the development of hypersonic weapons
Military expert Sivkov: Mobile installation for "Zircon" will make it invulnerable

The land mobile installation provides a number of advantages in using the Zircon, including the secrecy of our equipment. This opinion was expressed by military experts Alexander Bartosh and Konstantin Sivkov in a conversation with the VZGLYAD newspaper. Earlier it became known about the development and manufacture in hardware of a mobile launcher of a coastal missile system (BRK) with a Zircon hypersonic missile.

“A mobile launcher will allow you to transfer weapons as close as possible to the objects of use. This reduces the flight time and provides stealth technology, making it almost invulnerable. Previously, sea carriers were used for Zircon missiles. But the mobile land version is a new step,” said Alexander Bartosh, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Military Sciences.

At the same time, the interlocutor noted that it is advisable to use this type of weaponry only in case of urgent need. “This is a very expensive tool and they will most likely be hit only at very important strategic targets - combat control centers, moreover, at the government level, or at large bases,” he explained.

“At the same time, I do not think that such weapons will be used in Ukraine. The use of Zircon in a special operation will require additional reconnaissance of targets and will minimize the time from the moment a target is detected to its destruction to just a few minutes, ”said Bartosz.

Zircon is a hypersonic weapon that is practically invulnerable to air defense. At the coastal complex, the range of destruction varies from a thousand to one and a half thousand kilometers. The range of carrier-based aviation is about 800 kilometers. That is, by creating and using a missile system, we can strike at the enemy without entering the reach of his carrier-based aircraft, ”says Konstantin Sivkov, doctor of military sciences, in turn.

“The coastal mobile system creates a security zone 1,500 kilometers deep. Probably, such installations will appear along the perimeter of Russia's maritime borders in the foreseeable future," Sivkov concluded.
Earlier, a source close to the military department said that a prototype of a mobile launcher for a coastal missile system with a Zircon hypersonic missile had already been created. He clarified that the launcher, as in the case of the Bastion DBK, will carry two missiles. The source also said that the launcher of the new complex is four-axle, as in the Bastion complex with the Onyx missile, TASS reports.

TASS The agency notes that the DBK, like its predecessor, the Bastion complex, will have the ability to hit both surface and ground targets. Previously, state tests of the Zircon were carried out from a surface carrier - the frigate Admiral Gorshkov. In 2021, tests of the missile from an underwater carrier, the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine, also began.

In August, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the start of serial production of Zircon hypersonic missiles. Recall that during the parade on Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin said that the supply of Zircon hypersonic missile systems to the Russian Armed Forces would begin in the coming months. The first ship to use missiles will be the frigate Admiral Gorshkov.

https://vz.ru/news/2022/11/4/1185305.html?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop

TASS

The Russian military department ordered an additional batch of Zircon missiles




The first contract for the production of a batch of Zircons was signed in the summer of 2021, the source said.

MOSCOW, 12 November. /TASS/. The Russian military department has ordered an additional batch of the latest Zircon hypersonic missiles from industry. This was reported to TASS by a source close to the ministry.
“As already reported, the first contract for the production of a batch of Zircons was signed in the summer of 2021. “An additional contract will be signed this fall,” he said, without giving an exact date. According to the agency’s interlocutor, the additional contract deals with several dozen missiles with a deadline of 2023.

TASS does not have official confirmation of this information.

Previously, state tests of the Zircon were carried out from a surface carrier - the frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov. In 2021, tests of the missile from an underwater carrier, the Severodvinsk nuclear submarine, also began. In early November, TASS reported that a mobile launcher for a coastal missile system with a Zirkon hypersonic missile had already been developed and manufactured in hardware.
"Zircon" was developed and produced in the Reutov NPO Mashinostroeniya (part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation, a member of the Russian Union of Mechanical Engineers).

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/16305345

November 22, 01:09

New mobile launcher for Zircon will be able to use Onyx missiles
Supersonic missiles are used both in the Bastion coastal complex and on surface and underwater carriers.



Image source; Russian MOD

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. The mobile launcher for the Zircon hypersonic missile created in Russia will also be able to launch the Oniks supersonic missiles used both in the Bastion coastal missile system (BRK) and on surface and underwater carriers. This was reported to TASS by a source close to the military department.

"The created launcher of the new coastal missile system is unified for both the Zircon and the Onyx missiles," he said.
TASS does not have official confirmation of this information.

Earlier, a source from the agency said that enterprises of the military-industrial complex developed and manufactured in hardware a mobile launcher DBK with a Zircon hypersonic missile. According to him, the prototype has already been created, as in the case of the Bastion DBK, the launcher will carry two missiles.

According to another TASS source, the DBK with the Zircon missile, like its predecessor, the Bastion complex, will have the ability to hit both surface and ground targets.

The Onyx and Zircon missiles are designed and manufactured at the Reutov NPO Mashinostroeniya (part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation, a member of the Russian Union of Mechanical Engineers).

https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/16391297

Interestingly, on this patent, of course, the Cirkon looks like a rocket-propelled missile. Some believe that it is powered not by a scramjet engine but by an ordinary solid rocket engine. If this were true, there would have to be some kind of revolution in solid fuels.
However, I believe it is a scramjet drive after all. Although, of course, Russia has never confirmed what propulsion is ultimately on Cirkon. On the available test videos, unfortunately, when the first solid fuel stage is turned off, the videos cleverly end at least where there is no cloud cover.

Who can say what that drawing even shows?

Or what it is supposed to be...

Good question. They write that it is supposedly some patent t RU 2148180 is an NPO Mashinostroyeniya regarding Cirkon. This shows a shell in a container that looks similar to a Cirkon container. But what is it really?

When fired, the Cirkon looks very much like Shouryn's Indian missile. Only it's smaller than an Indian rocket.
The Indian missile is larger but is powered by a solid rocket engine.
In fact, with its dimensions, Cirkon can achieve its speed and range parameters with a two-stage solid rocket engine without a scramjet engine. It's really a mystery what powers the 3M22 in the second stage. Scramjet engine or highly efficient solid fuel propulsion. The Russians have never officially confirmed a working scramjet. f course, this does not mean that there is no scramjet engine on the 3M22. Quite likely it is though I'm leaning towards the theory that there could also be some kind of solid fuel engine with groundbreaking fuel etc.

It is highly unlikely that the upper stage carries its own oxidizer. Without airbreathing propulsion how would they get more range with the Zircon than with the Onyx? Having to carry your own oxidizer basically cuts the range in half.

r. Without airbreathing propulsion how would they get more range with the Zircon than with the Onyx? wrote:

Cirkon follows a completely different trajectory. Onyx flies very low. Cirkon flies to altitudes above 30 km, where air resistance is much lower. Solid fuel engines can accelerate it to 9M and then it flies on an aeroballistic trajectory, similar to Iskander. This can easily give a range of over 1000 km. I think so. In the case of rocket engine propulsion, it cannot perform as many maneuvers if it had a scramjet engine. Then it flies most of the time with the active propulsion. Unfortunately, they still haven't revealed the appearance of the missile, which would give an answer to the question of what drive it has. Are there air intakes for the scramjet engine or not.

These images from "armchair enthusiasts" suggest the Zircon has an annular intake at the nose, and is powered by solid fuel.  Plausible?  





I would presume the fuel doesn't include its own oxidiser like a conventional rocket fuel, ie only the fuel component is present, and therefore it requires air flow to support combustion.  The principle would be similar to a hydrid-fuelled rocket engine where a solid fuel (rubber) is burnt with a liquid or gaseous oxidiser.

If so, and they get the design right, this would be a robust and reliable arrangement. Minimal moving parts, no liquid fuels requiring tank pressurisation or turbopumps. Yeah, I like it

Good question. They write that it is supposedly some patent t RU 2148180 is an NPO Mashinostroyeniya regarding Cirkon. This shows a shell in a container that looks similar to a Cirkon container. But what is it really?

The launch container for UKSK is basically the same for all the missiles that are launched from it and don't really reflect anything.

You might say this is Zircon, but it could just as easily be a new supersonic version of Calibre or a long range Otvet anti sub weapon...

When fired, the Cirkon looks very much like Shouryn's Indian missile. Only it's smaller than an Indian rocket.
The Indian missile is larger but is powered by a solid rocket engine.

The Iskander and Kinzhal are a good indication... launched from the ground the almost 4 ton Iskander can fly 500km at Mach 6 to Mach 7... it needs to be air launched from high altitude and mach 2 plus speeds to achieve 2K km range and mach 9 speed.

The Zircon is surface launched so achieving mach 9 speed and 1,500km range presumably with a missile weight of between perhaps 2.5 and 3.5 tons suggests different propulsion.

Zircon will look a bit like that Indian missile because they are both designed to be launched from a UKSK launch tube.

Cirkon follows a completely different trajectory. Onyx flies very low. Cirkon flies to altitudes above 30 km, where air resistance is much lower.

Onyx can fly high for extra flight range and extra speed. With new propellent the Onyx can fly 1,000km, but not at low altitude I would think.

Solid fuel engines can accelerate it to 9M and then it flies on an aeroballistic trajectory, similar to Iskander.

That would not be efficient... it would make more sense to have a smaller lighter solid rocket motor just to get the missile moving and use the scramjet and extra fuel for much better performance.

These images from "armchair enthusiasts" suggest the Zircon has an annular intake at the nose, and is powered by solid fuel. Plausible?

That would require a real breakthrough in design and modelling. The scramjets they tested in the 1990s had round intakes mounted on the nose of SA-5 SAMs, but the round inlets didn't offer enough control of the airflow so they went to square intakes.

If its solid fuel powered does this mean it only has a terminal ballistic trajectory and not a terminal sea skimming one?