Successful interception of two modern russian ZM22 Zircon missiles during an enemy attack on Kyiv on March 25, as well as the discovery that missile debris turned out to be significantly larger, allowed Ukrainian experts to find answers to the main questions regarding so-called "Putin's wunderwaffe".
Until now, it was unknown which exact engine is used in the ZM22 Zircon missiles. As Defense Express learned from its own sources, russia has indeed managed to develop a hypersonic ramjet engine.
Read more: Ukrainian Forces Down Two russian Zircon missiles, the Debris Will Reveal a Lot of Information (Photo)
Therefore, unlike the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile, the Zircon is indeed a hypersonic missile capable of maintaining a constant hypersonic speed. And not just accelerate briefly towards it using a solid-fuel engine, as with the Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile.
Overall, the launch scheme of the Zircon missile looks as follows.
After the "mortar-like" launch and the missile exiting the shaft, the booster stage activates, propelling the Zircon to a significant altitude and accelerating it to speeds at which the hypersonic ramjet engine can begin to operate.
As a result of it, the Zircon missile, which flies at an altitude of several tens of kilometers, achieves a constant speed of up to 5.5 Mach during the cruising phase of the flight. The flight at this stage is conducted in a rarefied atmosphere, which allows for a reduction in thermal loading due to air friction. However, a speed of 5.5 Mach is not maximum for the Zircon cruise missile, because approximately the target it begins to dive and briefly accelerates to 7.5 Mach.
During this time, the rocket's hull heats up to maximum temperatures, which are withstood by a special thermal insulation coating. At the same time, closer to the ground, the speed of the Zircon is no longer hypersonic, although it remains very high - 4.5 Mach.
Thus, the ZM22 Zircon missile, contrary to earlier beliefs, does not maintain hypersonic speed in the final stage. However, the use of a hypersonic ramjet engine sets it apart from the Kh-47 Kinzhal, where the missile simply accelerates to such speeds.
Nevertheless, the actual capabilities of the Zircon cruise missile are significantly lower than what was announced in russia. In particular, dictator putin boasted about the missile's speed of up to 9 Mach, which in reality, Zircon barely approaches. In addition, currently it is possible to speak about a range of 700 km (in the case of launch from the Object-100 Utes stationary coastal missile system), while the declared range is 1000 km.
In any case, at the final stage, the speed of 4.5 Mach is more than significant. For comparison, the Soviet Kh-22, which russia also uses for strikes on Ukrainian cities, has a speed of up to 2-2.4 Mach at the terminal stage. Therefore, in any case, the ZM22 Zircon missile is extremely difficult to intercept.
Nevertheless, modern anti-aircraft missile systems with anti-missile defense capabilities, as demonstrated by the practical experience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, allow countering the Zircon.
Currently, the main question remains the guidance system of the Zircon missiles. However, currently, there are certain possibilities to obtain a more precise answer to this question, as electronic components were also found among the missile debris.
Read more: 150 Different Types of Missiles russia Launched at Ukraine for Last Three Days
