MOSCOW (TASS): The Northern Fleet’s frigate Admiral Gorshkov successfullytest-launched a Tsirkon hypersonic missile from the White Sea against atarget in the Barents Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.
“The Project 22350 lead frigate Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet UnionGorshkov carried out the next test-launch of a Tsirkon hypersonic cruisemissile from the White Sea against a complex target position in the BarentsSea,” the statement says.
The missile test-launch was carried out “as part of the trials of newweapons,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
The missile struck a target at a 450 km distance, developing a speed ofover Mach 8, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. “According tothe recording data, the Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missile successfullystruck a sea target at a distance of 450 km,” the ministry said in astatement.
“In its flight, the missile developed a speed of over Mach 8,” the ministrystressed.
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The frigate Admiral Gorshkov test-fried a Tsirkon hypersonic missile forthe first time in early October. The missile launched from the White Seastruck a sea target in the Barents Sea, flying at eight times the speed ofsound at an altitude of 28 km.
In February 2011, then-Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin announcedplans to develop the Tsirkon shipborne system with a hypersonic missile.According to media reports, the missile’s flight tests began in 2015.
In his State-of-the-Nation Address to the Federal Assembly in February2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the work on the Tsirkonhypersonic missile was proceeding as scheduled. As the Russian leader said,the Tsirkon was capable of developing a speed of about Mach 9 and itsstriking range capability could exceed 1,000 km. The Russian leader alsosaid that the Tsirkon could strike both naval and ground targets. Putinspecified at the time there were plans to deploy Tsirkon on serial-producedsurface ships and submarines, including the warships built or underconstruction for Kalibr cruise missiles.
