Russian frigate with Tsirkon hypersonic missile will be operational.

According to information published by Tass on June 3, 2022, the frigate Admiral Golovko carrying a hypersonic weapon will be made operational with Russia’s Northern Fleet by the end of this year.
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Tsirkon hypersonic missile (Picture source: Russian MoD)

The frigate Admiral Golovko carrying a hypersonic weapon will be made operational with Russia’s Northern Fleet by the end of this year, Fleet Commander Admiral Alexander Moiseyev said.

The frigate will be the first regular carrier of a sea-launched hypersonic weapon, the admiral said.

The Admiral Golovko is the Project 22350 third-built and second serial-produced frigate. The Russian Northern Fleet currently operates two frigates of this type, namely the Admiral Gorshkov and the Admiral Kasatonov.

The Admiral Gorshkov class is the successor to the Neustrashimyy and Krivak-class frigates. Unlike their Soviet-era predecessors, the new ships are designed for multiple roles. They are to be capable to execute long-range strikes, conduct anti-submarine warfare, and carrying out escort missions.

The Kalibr-NK cruise missile system is the frigates’ basic strike weapon. Admiral Gorshkov is involved in the tests of Tsirkon anti-ship hypersonic cruise missiles.

About Tsirkon hypersonic missile

The 3M22 Zircon also spelled as 3M22 Tsirkon (SS-N-33) is a scramjet-powered maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile currently in production by Russia.

Zircon is believed to be a maneuvering, winged hypersonic cruise missile with a lift-generating center body. A booster stage with solid-fuel engines accelerates it to supersonic speeds, after which a scramjet motor with liquid fuel in the second stage accelerates it to hypersonic speeds.

The high speed of the Zircon likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise missiles, such as Tomahawk.