File image.
Su-57 stealth fighter jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces have been armed with hypersonic weapons, according to the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander in Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev.
“In accordance with the state defense order, the Aerospace Forces annually receive advanced and modernized weapon systems. The pace of deliveries of fifth generation Su-57 aircraft is increasing, along with modern aviation strike systems and hypersonic weapons,” the commander reported in an interview with the Military Watch Magazine published on August 4.
The magazine said that the class of hypersonic missile in question remains highly uncertain, although it has been confirmed that an air-launched derivative of the 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile currently deployed from Russian Navy surface ships and submarines was under development.
Following the publication of the interview, Ukrainian media alleged that the hypersonic weapon of the Su-57 was indeed an air-launched version of the Zircon.
The Zircon is a maneuvering, winged cruise missile powered by a state-of-the-art scramjet engine that allows it to reach speeds as high as Mach 9. It was designed to engage both naval and land targets.
The missile’s range is estimated to be 250 to 500 kilometers at low level, and up to 740 kilometers semi-ballistic trajectory. The longest possible range is 1,000 kilometers. An air-launched version of the missile will likely have an even longer range, as it will benefit from the altitude and speed of the carrying aircraft.
The Zircon is reportedly equipped with a high-precision inertial navigation system along with an advanced active radar seeker.
The high speed of the Zircon gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise missiles. The missile’s high speed also means that it cannot be intercepted by existing defense systems and its precision makes it lethal to large targets such as aircraft carriers.
The integration of the Zircon would give the Su-57 the ability to attack targets with high precision and much power from a very long range. The United States and the rest of NATO are not currently in possession of such a capability.
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a great delivery platform . from missles and glide bombs to now additional hypersonic type weapons . this may be useful in many scenarios
afu will be armed with nukes…moscow is the first target…heheheh
russians are the best