GLOBAL DEFENSE's video: Zircon Missiles - Russian Navy Deploys Hypersonic Weapons at sea

Zircon Missiles - Russian Navy Deploys Hypersonic Weapons at sea. In a historic first, the Russian Navy has become the first to deploy a hypersonic weapon at sea. On Wednesday, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov departed for a long-distance patrol that will include both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, carrying the new Zircon missile. Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted the hypersonic missile as one of several new wonder weapons that will give Moscow an advantage over its Western rivals and he claims it will travel at nearly 7,000 miles per hour. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Russian state media outlet TASS that Admiral Gorshkov’s mission will be to “counter Russia’s threats, maintaining regional peace and stability together with friendly countries.” Gorshkov is what Russia calls a “multi-purpose frigate”, at 442 feet long and displacing 4500 tons, it’s about half the size of the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class of guided-missile destroyers by weight. Russia typically packs its ships full of firepower, and Gorshkov equipped with Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles, Oniks anti-ship missiles, and now Zircon missiles is no exception. Russia first announced Zircon in the late 2010s as one of several new hypersonic weapons programs meant to convey its superiority in missile technology, it was announced around the same time as the Avangard strategic hypersonic weapon and the Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic ballistic missile. Putin has described Zircon as having a top speed of Mach 9 and a range of 620 miles; the missile can be launched from both aircraft and ships, striking targets on land and at sea. TASS, on the other hand, has described it as having a top speed of Mach 5 or 6. Other experts concurred with that number, giving it a more modest range of 248 to 310 miles. # Zirconmissile # hypersonic # ukraine