The frigate ‘Admiral Gorshkov’ of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy has successfully tested a Tsirkon hypersonic missile launched from the waters of the White Sea against a coastal target located at a distance of 350 kilometers, as reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.
“The flagship frigate of the project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov fired a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile from the White Sea against a target installed in the Chiza polygon, in the Arjanguelsk region,” said the department headed by General Sergei Shoigú.
The Russian Defense Ministry has stressed that the projectile “exceeded the speed Mach 8”, which is equivalent to eight times the speed of sound (about 9,500 kilometers per hour). This launch is the third launch of a Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a ship and the first to be fired at a target on the coast.
The ‘Admiral Gorshkov’ frigate previously conducted tests with the Tsirkon missile in October and November with targets located at sea, according to the Russian news agency Sputnik. The Russian Defense Ministry has released a video in which the phases of the launch of the hypersonic projectile can be seen.
The video shows the deck of the frigate and the missile exit from the shuttle and its movement through the sky leaving a trail of flames and smoke. The Tsirkon hypersonic missile (zirconium, in Spanish) has the capacity to fly at a speed of Mach 9 (nine times the speed of sound) and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers.
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