Among the modern weapon systems under development in Russia, the 3M22 Tzikon hypersonic anti-ship missile is probably one of the most likely to bring about a long-term technological shift. Given to reach 1000 km, the missile would evolve at Mach 9, which puts it virtually out of reach of all the anti-missile systems existing today that protect the buildings of the Western navies. The program has just taken a big step forward, since according to the TASS agency, the Russian Navy would have fired the first shots of 2 of these missiles from a ship, in this case the new frigate Admiral Gorshkov.
The test, involving two missiles fired against targets on land, is said to have taken place in January in the Barentz Sea. The missile would have, on this occasion, shown its potential to reach targets more than 500 km away. According to military authorities interviewed by the official Russian agency, the next step will be to test the missile from a nuclear submarine, before entering service which should take place between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021.
75% of this article remains to read,
Subscribe to access it!
The Classic subscriptions provide access to
articles in their full version, and without advertising,
from 6,90 €.
Newsletter subscription
Register for the Meta-Defense Newsletter to receive the
latest fashion articles daily or weekly