The Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian Northern Fleet launched the hypersonic missile "Zircon" from the White Sea. The missile was launched at a range of 450 km to destroy a sea target. The missile developed the speed of eight speeds of sound and successfully struck the target.
The launch was recognized as successful, the missile hit the target directly. The maximum altitude of the launch was 28 km, whereas the flight time was 4 and a half minutes. The Zircon developed the hypersonic speed of over Mach 8.
The flight tests of the Zircon hypersonic missile will be continued. When completed, the missile will be used to arm submarines and surface ships.
To launch the Zircon missile, as well as Caliber and Onyx cruise missiles, the 3C-14 universal shipborne firing system is used. In particular, Project 22350 frigates and Project 20380 corvettes are equipped with such launchers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the successful test launch of the Zircon hypersonic missile was a great achievement for the country.
At a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Putin noted that state-of-the-art and truly second-to-none arms systems will ensure the defensive capability of the country for many years to come.
The successful launch of the missile became possible owing to enormous work that engineers, scientists, talented workers, military specialists conducted.
"I want to congratulate everyone who is involved in the work on Zircon. I want to thank the Minister of Defense. I know that all of you act not only as customers, but also as full-fledged participants in the process of creating such modern systems," Putin said.
The President expects that domestic designers and military specialists working on new weapons would continue their persistent work. Putin set out a hope that all specialists involved in the rearmament of the Russian army would continue their work just as efficiently and persistently.