Russian Tsirkon Hypersonic Anti Ship Missile A Threat to the US Navy and NATO
Russian Tsirkon Hypersonic Anti Ship Missile A Threat to the US Navy and NATO?
Russia Claims Start of Serial Production of the Tsirkon Anti Ship Missile System. Should NATO Be Worried? Speaking to state media at Russias Army 2022 arms expo, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that serial production of the new Tsirkon hypersonic anti ship missile has begun.
However, while Shoigus announcement appears to partially clash with President Vladimir Putins proclamation as part of his July 31 Navy Day speech that the Tsirkon would enter active service with the Russian Navy before the end of August 2022.
What Did Shoigu Announce, and Why Does it Contradict Previous Russian Statements on the Tsirkon? On the face of it, Shoigus announcement that the 3M22 Tsirkon has entered serial production has been a long time coming, assuming the missile has indeed entered production as claimed by Shoigu.
However, it possibly appears to rule out that the Tsirkon will be supplied to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation within the next month, as promised by Putin in his July 31 speech.
Russian sources had previously reported that the Tsirkon was already under serial production as of July but claimed that the missile would be adopted as early as September 2022. While it appears that progress has been made in bringing the Tsirkon into operation, it seems that some hiccups or setbacks have occurred behind the scenes, which have otherwise disrupted the timetable which the Kremlin promised they would be delivered on.
Russian state media sources had previously claimed that serial production of the Tsirkon was scheduled to begin in 2018, and that the missile had already entered mass production by the end of 2021, so such delays would be nothing new.
Known alternatively as the Zircon, the missile has reportedly been under development since 2011, and entered the club of new hypersonic missiles promoted by President Putin when he confirmed the systems development as part of his February 2019 state of the nation address.
Tests of the missile began to be publicly promoted, by Russian state media sources in 2017, while the first submarine launched test of the Tsirkon occurred in 2021 in the Barents Sea. The Tsirkon was also test fired by the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in 2020 and 2021, which is intended to receive the missile first when it is delivered to the Russian fleet.