According to Alexander Leonov, CEO of Research and Production Association of Machine-Building, the Russian authorities have mandated manufacturers to increase the range and speed of anti-ship systems and cruise missiles currently in service in the Russian armed forces.
More particularly, significant efforts will be focused on the P800 Onyx system, which equips the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov frigates, the Project 885 Yassen-class submarines, and the future Project 22350M Super Gorshkov destroyers. The P800 Onix is an 8,90 meter missile with a mass exceeding 3 tonnes. It is powered by a ramjet engine giving it a speed of Mach 2,5 at altitude and Mach 2 at sea level. The missile can reach a range of 300 km in high-low flight profile, and 120 km in trajectory. grazing. It uses an inertial navigation system adjusted by GLONASS satellite for the cruise phases, and an intelligent infrared seeker for the acquisition and destruction of its target. The warhead of 250 kg combined with the kinetic energy deployed is sufficient to destroy or seriously damage all existing surface ships.
The announcement of wanting to bring the Onyx system to hypersonic speeds, greater than mach 6, once again suggests that Russia has made a breakthrough in the guidance of hypersonic weapons. Indeed, the Onyx does not have a ballistic trajectory like the Tzirkon is supposed to have, and it cannot therefore be controlled by a rear beam coming from a satellite. This therefore assumes that Russian engineers would have succeeded in developing a material capable of resisting thermal friction generated by hypersonic speed, but sufficiently low density to allow electromagnetic guiding radiation to pass through (in fact, it seems very unlikely that the missile will retain infrared guidance like today).
If this is the case, Russia would have a very significant technological advance in terms of anti-ship missiles, the anti-aircraft defense systems equipping Western ships being incapable of intercepting a hypersonic missile in a low trajectory today.
If the information is proven, because there is no objective indication that this technology has actually been mastered, Russia would be able to deploy a naval interdiction zone comparable to that concerning aircraft. It would therefore be able to neutralize NATO's two main forces, its air force and its Navy, to gain a very marked strategic advantage, the latter not being able to oppose its armored power without intervention. massive in the United States.
More than ever, Russia applies the doctrine “Be strong or your opponent is weak, and prevent him from using his forces”, which, much more than hybrid warfare, should be attributed to General Gerazimov.