In an article published in the daily “Izvestia”, the Russian authorities confirmed the development of a “mini” version of the hypersonic anti-ship missile, intended to equip small vessels of which the Russian navy has a large number.
Traditionally, the Russian Navy operates a large fleet of low-tonnage combat vessels, very well equipped and armed, but unsuitable for the high seas. This is the case of Buyan, Tarantuela and Karakurt class corvettes, some units of which carry Kalibr cruise missiles, while these vessels do not exceed 1200 tonnes.
The development of a version adapted to these light vessels of the Zirkon hypersonic missile would significantly strengthen the anti-ship capabilities of the Russian “mosquito fleet”. Indeed, the Zirkon, capable of reaching mach-7, cannot be intercepted by the systems currently in operation in Western navies. Even the brand new British CAAM defense system, which will equip the Type 26 frigates, is only capable of intercepting missiles traveling at less than mach 3.
The only protection for Western ships would then lie in their jamming and decoy capabilities, but can they respond effectively to a missile traveling more than 2 km/s?
However, the effectiveness of the missile's guidance systems on a moving target has not been demonstrated. Indeed, beyond mach 5, a projectile creates a plasma surrounding it which has the particularity of being impervious to radar waves, at least to some of them, and the friction on the frontal parts generates very high heat. important, forcing these missiles to use materials opaque to electromagnetic waves. The question is therefore whether or not Russian engineers have actually managed to solve this problem, which is essential to guide the missile towards its target.
For the moment, there is no definitive answer to this crucial question, which determines the real effectiveness of missiles like the Russian Zirkon or the Chinese DF21.