Ukrainian air defense shot down Russian hypersonic missile “Zircon”

During Russia’s missile attack on Kiev, Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted two 3M22 Zircon hypersonic missiles. Information about the interception of the missiles was made public by the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“At around 10.30 on March 25, the enemy attacked Kiev with two ballistic missiles from Crimea, which it temporarily occupied. The targets were destroyed, their type is being determined.” statements were included.

One of the questions to be answered was which engine was used in the 3M22 “Zircon”. After examining the debris of downed missiles, it turned out that they were able to develop a hypersonic jet engine in Russia. “Zircon” is a hypersonic missile that is still able to maintain a constant hypersonic speed and does not accelerate for a short time due to a solid fuel engine.

The “Zircon” launch scheme looks like this. After the launch and exit of the rocket from the mine, the acceleration stage begins to work, which provides the launch of the rocket to a significant height and its primary acceleration to speeds at which the hypersonic direct jet engine can start operating.

Already flying at its own expense at an altitude of tens of kilometers, a hypersonic rocket reaches a constant speed of up to Mach 5.5 in the marching part of the flight. Flight in this area is carried out in a rarefied atmosphere, which allows reducing the heat load due to friction in the air.

But for the “Zircon” the speed of Mach 5.5 is not the maximum, it starts diving in the target area and accelerates to Mach 7.5. The rocket body is heated to maximum temperatures that make it possible to withstand a special thermal insulation coating. At the same time, the rocket’s near-ground speed is no longer hypersonic, although it is super high – Mach 4.5.

But as the practical experience of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shows, modern anti-aircraft missile complexes with anti-missile defense capabilities make it possible to fight even with Zircon missiles.

The main issue remains the guidance system of “Zircon”. Previously, it was believed that this missile had an active radar homing head. This is stated in a video of the Russian Ministry of Defense on tests of this missile, in which it hit a target in the form of a barge with a corner reflector.

However, it is now possible to get a more accurate answer to this question because electronic components were also found among the rocket debris.

Experts calculated the approximate approach time of the 3M22 “Zircon” missile launched from occupied Crimea:

• Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson – 1 minute
• Dnipro, Zaporizhia – 2.5 minutes
• 3 minutes to Kropyvnytskyi
• Kyiv, 3.5 minutes from Vinnitsa
• In Kharkiv – 3.9 minutes
• 5.3 minutes to Lviv

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