According to the British Daily Telegraph, the Ukrainian side said that Russia attacked Kyiv last week using the "Zircon" hypersonic super**. The facts of the incident are still being established, but there are signs that Russia has suffered a new humiliation, as another Russian supposedly invincible ** appears to have been shot down by Ukrainian air defenses.
It is known that Russia launched an attack on Kyiv last week (February 7) using a variety of **. The Ukrainian Air Force, which is responsible for the city's air defense, believes that these include basic propeller-powered Shahed drones, subsonic Kh-55 cruise missiles and Kalibr cruise missiles from Iran. Calibers are mostly subsonic, but some versions reach supersonic speeds (supposedly Mach 3) when they finally approach the target, which makes them more difficult to shoot down.
Well, the suggestion of the Ukrainian defenders is that the Ukrainian defenders did not detect any incoming missiles flying at speeds above Mach 3. This will lead them to conclude that there is no hypersonic** at work – "hypersonic" usually means speeds above Mach 5. However, the air defense department did warn at 0746 local time on the 7th that a "high-speed missile" was approaching the city, suggesting that it could be supersonic**.
Back last week, there were ** reports of fragments of Russian missiles circulating on the Internet, and one of the places where it was hit was marked "3M22" - the name of the "Zircon". It is clear that the site of the missile impact is located in parts of the city where military targets do not exist. It is unlikely that the Russians deliberately aimed the scarce, expensive super** at such a location, which indicates that the missile was shot down: or it could be that it broke down on its own.
The Zircon was initially launched by a rocket booster, and then transitioned to ramjet engine propulsion. The top speed of a normal ramjet engine is between Mach 3 and Mach 4 because they need to keep the airflow through the combustion chamber at subsonic speed, which creates increasing drag at higher supersonic speeds. For faster, a supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) is needed.
In the West, hydrogen-powered scramjet engines have been tested to Mach 10 and above, but hydrogen fuel is extremely cumbersome to use in military applications. Trying to run a scramjet with relatively ordinary liquid fuel is much more cumbersome, but the American X-51 W**Erider test scramjet did make sustained liquid-fuel flights at speeds above Mach 5 in 2013 after some failures.
Russia made various statements about Zircon. Having put it on Russia's list of six "super**" in 2018, he said it was impossible for the United States to intercept or defeat these**. Presumably, official footage shows various Zircon test firings: at least in some cases, these later turned out to be other older ** and even cast doubt on the presence of Zircon or the existence described.
Nevertheless, the Russians claim to have solved the problem of the "Zircon" liquid-fuel scramjet engine. There are various conflicting claims about the missile's performance, but it is said to fly at Mach 8 or 9 and have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. It was originally developed as an anti-ship ** for use by Russian ** and submarines, but there are also reports that a land-attack version is being developed.
If the missile actually approaches the target at Mach 8 or 9, it is difficult to defend against, especially if it is not maneuvering. However, most experts are skeptical about Zircon's capabilities, since at such a rate, it travels inside a bubble of self-generated ionized plasma. This means that it cannot use radar, communications, or satellite navigation. This will make it impossible to hit moving targets such as ships, and even in a land attack, the missile will be limited by relatively inaccurate inertial guidance.
It is also worth remembering that the Russians often exaggerate their military capabilities. Another of Putin's six super** "Dagger" air-launched missiles is allegedly hypersonic and unstoppable: but in the war in Ukraine, it turned out that American-made Patriot interceptor missiles can shoot it down with a high success rate. Therefore, it is quite possible that the "Zircon" is not as touted, and it will most likely approach Kyiv no faster than the supersonic "Caliber" missile, as many analysts have expected for a long time. "It is clear that the ** does not correspond to the declared tactical and technical characteristics of the enemy. "It's still early days, but the" Zircon", like the" Dagger ", most likely is not the game-changing super ** that Putin calls it. The face of this Russian ** seems to be covered with eggs again.