Russia plans to hold another three tests of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile, sources in the Russian Ministry of Defence told TASS. These test-launched will be done aboard the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian Northern Fleet (Project 22350).
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"As part of the ongoing flight trials of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile, three more test launches will be carried out by the Admiral Gorshkov frigate. The nearest launch will take place in late October - early November," one of the sources told TASS.
"All the three launches will involve real strike at sea or land targets, including those imitating aircraft carriers or strategic facilities of a notional enemy," said another source in the Ministry.
However, this information remains unconfirmed as The NPO Mashinostroyeniya rocket design bureau did not make any comments.
On 6 October, the Russian Ministry of Defence had successfully tested the Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missile. The tests were carried out from the waters of the White Sea, from the "Admiral Gorshkov" frigate.
During this test, the missile's flight range was 450 km, the maximum altitude was 28 kilometres, the flight time was 4.5 minutes, and a hypersonic speed of more than Mach 8 was achieved.
Tsirkon was revealed by Putin in a state of the nation address in February 2019, saying it could hit targets at sea and on land with a range of 1,000 kilometres and a speed of Mach 9. It is capable of striking both naval and ground targets.
