Traveling nine times faster than the speed of sound, Zircon can hit targets up to 1,000 kilometers away

All new Russian navy frigate and corvette class vessels will be equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles, Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov announced on Thursday. He did not, however, reveal the exact number of warships the navy expected to receive the weaponry.

“All the ships of the frigate class that are under construction or are being laid down will be armed with ‘Zircons’,” he told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS) in Russia’s Kronstadt. “Corvettes [will get them] too,” he added.

The Zircon missiles were brought into service early this year. The projectiles are said to be much faster than any previously developed Russian anti-ship missiles and those used by NATO nations.

Back in 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in his annual address to parliament that Zircon missiles would be able to hit targets at a range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) while flying nine times faster than the speed of sound. That is supposedly more than nine times as fast as the Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles used by the US Navy, which are both subsonic.

Zircon can be used against any surface vessels, ranging from a frigate to an aircraft carrier, as well as against any land targets. The decision does not mean that Russia plans to abandon its Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles, which are also actively used by the navy, Yevmenov said. Both missiles have previously demonstrated “high reliability,” he added......More Below

https://www.rt.com/russia/578487-new-frigates-corvettes-hypersonic-missiles/