NPOMash 3M22 Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile

So far it looks similar to Brahmos/Yakhont/Oniks but seems to aim for higher altitude during boost.
 
What if Zirkon is just upgraded P800 with just semi ballistic flight profile.
 
So it’s a M9 (top speed according to Russia/Putin) air breather? This would be the most advance air breathing engine tech that’s ever been produced into a weapon system no?

Yet there seems to be very little if any analysis of this engine that I’ve seen or read. Or am I missing something?
 
Scar said:
sferrin said:
flying the same launch profile as previous "Zircon" tests, i.e. more of a climbing attitude than horizontal like Onyx/Brahmos.
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And?... P-700/800 both have two flight profiles, hi-low and low-low.
View attachment 674928
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True, so are we saying these so-called "Zircon" launches have been Oniks all along? How to tell the difference between a "Zircon" and an "Onyx"?
 
sferrin said:
so are we saying these so-called "Zircon" launches have been Oniks all along?
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No, since footage i provided with gif clearly shows it's not Onyx. I'm just saying launch trajectory is not indicative at all.
 
bobbymike said:
So it’s a M9 (top speed according to Russia/Putin) air breather? This would be the most advance air breathing engine tech that’s ever been produced into a weapon system no?

Yet there seems to be very little if any analysis of this engine that I’ve seen or read. Or am I missing something?
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It would certainly be the fastest air breathing weapon by a wide margin, to my knowledge, assuming the Mach 8-9 figures being throw around are correct. We don't really know anything about it outside that released figure and the footage we've seen.
 
Scar said:
sferrin said:
so are we saying these so-called "Zircon" launches have been Oniks all along?
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No, since footage i provided with gif clearly shows it's not Onyx. I'm just saying launch trajectory is not indicative at all.
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Given that's virtually the ONLY video out there showing Onyx/Brahmos in a higher angle launch trajectory (assuming it's Onyx) I disagree. Most are more like this one:

 
Hate to be "that guy" but it's blurred out so it could be almost anything and the impact looks subsonic.
 
Dunno... in similar impact videos the missile (even that South Korean Oniks clone, a supersonic type) is generally discernible if you slow the playback speed down, here it remains blurred. Could be censoring, as in the launch footage (damn them!), but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand. There's also the fact that it seems to be diving, while Oniks impacts are typically sea-skimming (yes, it has an optional high-altitude trajectory, but that is rarely shown), which fits a hypersonic weapon. Not sure it was carrying a warhead either, and if that is correct the obvious severity of the impact is something to consider, too.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G22cyimEs4
 
tass.com

Surface-based Tsirkon hypersonic missile may be commissioned this year â source

The state trials are complete, a source close to the Defense Ministry told
tass.com tass.com

18 JUL, 08:56

Surface-based Tsirkon hypersonic missile may be commissioned this year — source​

The state trials are complete, a source close to the Defense Ministry told

MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. The newest Tsirkon hypersonic missile for surface ships may be commissioned in the Russian Navy before the end of 2022, a source close to the Defense Ministry told TASS Monday.
"The state trials are complete; the surface version of the Tsirkon is expected to be commissioned within the next five months," the source said.
According to the source, NPO Mashinostroyeniya continues to produce the missiles, while simultaneously working on increasing its range.
TASS has not been able to obtain official confirmation of this information.

Earlier, the media reported that, on May 28, a Tsirkon was test-fired at its maximum range from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate. The Defense Ministry reported that the missile was launched from the Barents Sea at a naval target in the White Sea about 1,000 km away.
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22-10930305-circon-71.jpg

22-10931581-circon-75.jpg

I saw these images over at paralay's russian defense forum. I translated the page to see what the guys were saying and I am pretty strongly convinced that they may have gotten it right! Hope they dont mind me posting the images here. Thry are so interesting I thought you guys might want to see them.

The scramjet intakes remind me of a DARPA missile study that I have seen before. What do you guys think? I seem to recall that in the last parts of terminal phase the zircon is supposed to somehow shed it's scramjet intakes. I can imagine this based on these images.
 
In the video below you can see the moment(at 0:32) when the solid booster-stage finished its job and disabled.
So, it's a liquid-fuel rocket motor or air-breather.
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No solid booster finished job in 0:23. After The scramjet drive still works. You can see the condensation trail produced by the engine, then it disappears at higher altitude
 
TMA1 said:
View attachment 681768

View attachment 681769

I saw these images over at paralay's russian defense forum. I translated the page to see what the guys were saying and I am pretty strongly convinced that they may have gotten it right! Hope they dont mind me posting the images here. Thry are so interesting I thought you guys might want to see them.

The scramjet intakes remind me of a DARPA missile study that I have seen before. What do you guys think? I seem to recall that in the last parts of terminal phase the zircon is supposed to somehow shed it's scramjet intakes. I can imagine this based on these images.
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I don't read Russian, could you explain the layout? A solid booster stage, with a integral booster and then some kind of hybrid ramjet/scramjet?
 
A Tentative Fleet Plan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1600181493850001408
View: https://twitter.com/PararamTadam/status/1600181493850001408


View attachment 689151

The owner of the patent RU 2148180 is an NPO Mashinostroyeniya. There are several reliable facts about the 3M22 Zircon (cyr. "Циркон")/SS-N-33 missile, and they all coincide with this schematic drawings, but perhaps the real Zircon has some differences.
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Does this drawing explain the mystery of Circon? According to him, the Cirkon has only ordinary rocket propulsion?
 
Dark said:
Does this drawing explain the mystery of Circon? According to him, the Cirkon has only ordinary rocket propulsion?
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He says in a reply to someone else that Zirkon is supposed to have higher-energy solid propellant than Islander.

As for the sketch, I've followed up the original source, and it may be unrelated to Zircon as it is from a patent on Nitrogen Gas Generators:

RU2148180C1 - Method of supply of working gas to cavities of flying vehicle units and systems and system for realization of this method - Google Patents

FIELD: flying vehicles launched from stationary and mobile sets including submarines. SUBSTANCE: high-pressure cavities are filled with working gas after which mains running to flying vehicle systems are opened; generation of working gas and filling of cavities shall be performed simultaneously...
patents.google.com
 
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Are Zircon's approximate dimensions known? I feel like the combination of Mach 8 and 1000km isn't an achievable goal for the size of the weapon, and that the Mach 8 figure if accurate would have to represent a terminal not a cruise speed. Or else the 1000km isn't accurate.
 
What speed does it say in the bottom right graphic? I assume it's 10,700 km/h. TbIC is thousand right?
 
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It's proving far more basic in shape than artists stealthy impressions of it. Makes you wonder whether Avangard looks anything like artists impressions, or is it just a cone with some aero effects?

1707996583257.png

www.twz.com

Is Russia Really Using Zircon Hypersonic Cruise Missiles In Ukraine?

Wreckage found in Ukraine has resulted in claims that Russia is the first nation to use a hypersonic cruise missile in combat.
www.twz.com www.twz.com

1707996606355.png
 
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The fact that Zircon launches from an existing cylindrical launcher at sea level IMO always all but ruled out a wave riding configuration. It would have to be a ramjet or have a ramjet mode to gain altitude and likely require an integral booster to shorten the stack. I do not think any of the renders of Russian hypersonics are at all representative.
 
I do not believe claims of zircon being shot down. I heard the air raid sirens actually started going off as the missile started hitting targets. It is claimed patriots were also taken out near an airport but thr primary targets were SBU
 
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TMA1 said:
...come on. Russia even hacked some street cams to show Ukrainian claims were false. I do not believe claims of zircon being shot down. I heard the air raid sirens actually started going off as the missile started hitting targets. It is claimed patriots were also taken out near an airport but thr primary targets were SBU
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Afraid not, some got through but hit only civilian targets. Lot's of information addressing the Russian claims online.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1772280711862440095
View: https://x.com/UKikaski/status/1772280711862440095?s=20


6 were again fired last night but nothing beyond shelling damage near frontline.

liveuamap.com

4 person wounded as result of attack in Derhachi Kharkiv, Kharkiv Oblast - Ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com

4 person wounded as result of attack in Derhachi. Live Universal Awareness Map Liveuamap is a leading independent global news and information site dedicated to factual reporting of a variety of important topics including conflicts, human rights issues, protests, terrorism, weapons deployment...
liveuamap.com liveuamap.com

1711451381671.png

https://twitter.com/x/status/1772376951845466362
View: https://x.com/UKikaski/status/1772376951845466362?s=20

More here:
www.twz.com

Ukraine Situation Report: Claims Swirl Around Strikes On Landing Ships In Crimea

Ukraine's military says it successfully struck two more Black Sea Fleet landing ships, but it's still unclear how bad the damage actually is.
www.twz.com www.twz.com
 
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xxtomcooperxx.substack.com

Ukraine War, 26 March 2024

Hello everybody!
xxtomcooperxx.substack.com xxtomcooperxx.substack.com

Tom Cooper point of view: while the Ukrainians may have shot down two Zircons, this is not exactly good news for a host of reasons. The missiles came like bats outta hell; with absolutely zero warning.
Just two sonic booms in terminal descent and then KABOOM.
Kiyv was spared only because other places were hit by a volley of Zircons and warned the capital: which had barely enough time to point and launch Patriots.
So this was a "lucky" shot - as far as "warning" was concerned.
 

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