MOSCOW, November 22.
/TASS/. New tests of the latest Tsirkon hypersonic missile will take place at a
naval range of the Northern Fleet before the end of the year, a source in
defense circles of Russia’s North-Western Federal District told TASS on Friday.
"A Tsirkon
missile is expected to be launched from the White Sea before the end of the
year. The specific date will be set as soon as the technical equipment is
ready," the source said.
Specialists are now
making a special stand based on a pontoon, from which the latest missile will
be test-fired, the source added.
The Research and
Production Association of Machine-Building, which is developing the Tsirkon,
declined to comment on the missile’s planned trials.
Tsirkon hypersonic
missile
In his
State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on February 20, Russian
President Vladimir Putin informed that the work on the Tsirkon hypersonic
missile was proceeding as scheduled. As the Russian leader stated, the Tsirkon
is capable of developing a speed of Mach 9 and its striking range capability
can exceed 1,000 km. The Russian leader noted that the Tsirkon could strike
both naval and ground targets. Experts say the Tsirkon hypersonic missile
cannot be intercepted by any existing air defense capabilities.
A source in the
defense industry told TASS in late 2018 that more than ten Tsirkon launches had
been carried out against naval targets to ranges of several hundred kilometers
since the start of the missile’s trials. According to media reports, the
missile firings from a sea platform were conducted in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Russian warships and
submarines currently armed with Kalibr or Oniks cruise missiles are expected to
carry Tsirkon hypersonic weapons. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei
Krivoruchko said on November 8 there were plans to deploy Tsirkon missiles on
the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov currently undergoing modernization and on the
Project 949A multi-purpose nuclear-powered submarine Irkutsk. Before that,
Russian President Putin revealed that the corvette Gremyashchiy might be armed
with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.
Source: ITAR-TASS
22-11-2019
