Putin has ordered the “Mass Production” of the 3M22 Zircon Hypersonic Missile for the Russian Navy.

Putin says the Zircon Hypersonic Missile will go on Combat Alert soon as Tensions with the west seem to continously escalate.

3M22 Tsirkon / 3M22 Zircon 

#Infographic of a hypersonic anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile

The Tsirkon, or 3M22, is a Russian hypersonic anti-ship missile according to the NATO SS-N-33 classification.

The main feature of this missile is that it has a much higher speed compared to other anti-ship missiles made in Russia.  The missile can fly at an altitude of 30-40 km where air resistance is low. This altitude significantly increases the range and speeds up the missile.

Tsirkon is able to hit and destroy enemy surface ships of various classes, from frigates to aircraft carriers, as well as ground targets.

The Russian military tested the supersonic cruise missile at a speed of 9.5 thousand kilometers per hour. For comparison the speed of the Tomahawk missile in the US and British navies is approximately Mach 0.8.  The missile is also capable of launching from Russian naval submarines.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, the Russian Navy has fired the hypersonic missile for the first time on a test basis with the Severodvinsk (K-560) nuclear submarine of the Yasen class.  According to the statement, the firing was aimed at a simulated naval target in the Brent Sea, during which all stages of the missile flight were in accordance with the specified parameters.

It should be noted that during this test, the submarine fired the missile from the surface of the water, but in the next test, which will probably take place in November, the missile will fire from a submarine submerged position (underwater) against a naval target.