Russian Destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov to be Equipped with Zircon Hypersonic Cruise Missiles - Other Heavyweights to Follow

As the Russian Navy’s first deployment of the Zircon Hypersonic cruise missile approaches, more details regarding the warships which will be prioritised to first integrate the platforms have emerged. Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko announced that alongside the Gremyashchiy Class corvettes, light 2,200 platforms confirmed by President Vladimir Putin as set to deploy the missiles by the end of 2019, the Russian Navy’s Project 1155 Udaloy class destroyers will be the first class of heavyweight ships equipped with the Zircon. Specifically, the warship Marshal Shaposhnikov from the Pacific fleet currently undergoing a major refit was referred to as the first Russian destroyer to deploy hypersonic cruise missiles. The Russian Navy’s other seven Udaloy Class ships are expected to also deploy hypersonic cruise missiles - although the number of missiles each will carry remains uncertain due to the Zircon’s considerable cost. The Udaloy Class ships were commissioned into the Soviet Navy throughout the 1980s, making them approximately the same age as the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga Class cruisers, and each deploys 64 vertical launch cells capable of housing a wide range of cruise missiles. The warships displace over 7,500 tons when fully loaded, and they are traditionally heavily armed for anti submarine warfare duties.

Russia has yet to develop a shipbuilding capacity for surface vessels larger than frigates, meaning it has relied overwhelming on upgrading older destroyers and cruisers for deployment alongside newly built submarines, frigates and corvettes. This could soon change however, with the Russian Navy maintaining ambitious plans for modernisation in the 2020s which will reportedly include the laying down of two light carriers in Crimea by the end of next year. Should Russia be planning investment in manufacturing new destroyers in the near future, possibly under the Shkval Class destroyer program, it is possible that investments in integration of the Zircon missiles onto older Soviet era destroyers will be more limited.

It is likely that Russia’s new Admiral Gorshkov Class frigates will be among the first surface combatants to deploy the Zircon, while the Navy’s two Kirov Class heavy battlecruisers are confirmed as set to be equipped with the new missile - with each retaining a capacity for over 100. The Zircon reportedly has a range of over 1000km and a speed of between Mach 8 and Mach 9, which alongside its formidable electronic warfare countermeasures and high manoeuvrability makes it the most capable anti ship cruise missile in the world. China's People's Liberation Army Navy is expected to deploy a similar platform in the early 2020s, speculated to have been developed with Russian assistance, under the YJ-XX program.