The new Russian fifth-generation fighter Su-57 received a hypersonic weapon in the form of a Zircon missile. This could be a turning point in the confrontation with the West, writes the American expert military magazine Military Watch Magazine.
The fact that the Su-57 is equipped with hypersonic weapons was announced by the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev.
"In accordance with the state defense order, the Aerospace Forces annually receive modern and modernized weapons systems. The pace of deliveries of fifth-generation Su—57 fighters is growing, along with modern aviation strike systems and hypersonic weapons," he said in an interview.
Russian media have been hinting at equipping the Su-57 with hypersonic weapons for several years. In February 2023, the state news agency TASS reported that "a small-sized air-launched hypersonic missile for the Su-57" had reached the prototype stage. Although the class of hypersonic missiles remains uncertain, it has been confirmed that an airborne version of the Zircon cruise missile is being developed, which is currently used by the Russian Navy on surface ships and submarines.
The Zircon missile first entered combat service on a Russian surface ship in January 2023, and then became part of the armament of the country's submarines. It is also planned to integrate it into ground-based missile systems. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu previously noted:
"A unique feature of Zircon hypersonic missiles is their guaranteed ability to bypass any existing or prospective air defense systems."
This program is a key element of the modernization of Russian anti-ship capabilities and is expected to play an important role in compensating for the shortcomings of the Russian fleet, including reducing the number of destroyers and cruisers.
In addition to the Chinese YJ-21, the class of these missiles remains without competitors in terms of capabilities: they have a range of about 1000 kilometers and a speed of more than Mach 9, and the kinetic energy on impact is considered sufficient to damage even large ships. For comparison, the most advanced Western anti—ship missiles with supersonic speed, such as the SM-6, have a range of about 450 kilometers and a speed of about Mach 3.5.The integration of the Zircon missile into the Su-57 — an aircraft with a very long range and advanced stealth capabilities — will significantly increase the threat to enemy shipping, especially given the plan to expand the Su-57 fleet to several hundred vehicles by the end of the 2030s.
In October 2023, state media reported on the development of a new ultra-long-range cruise missile based on the X-101/102, which is equipped with strategic bombers, and it is planned to install it on the Su-57. This smaller missile compared to the original X-101/102 retains the same range — approximately 3,500 kilometers. This will allow the Su-57 to have the largest radius of destruction among all modern fighters in the world due to "a significant reduction in the size of the new warhead due to an improved folding wing, internal layout and the use of a new small-sized turbojet engine." So far, no additional data has been received on the new missile program.
There is a high probability that the compact hypersonic class of air-to-air missiles for the Su-57 will also be widely used on other Russian front-line aircraft, especially considering that only one regiment of these machines is currently in service. At the end of July, the start of operation of the main tactical air missile — the R-77M — on the front-line Su-35S was confirmed, which increases the chances of its further widespread distribution throughout the fleet.
Combining new missile classes for the Su-57 with a wider range of aircraft can increase their export potential. One of the main contenders for the use of hypersonic weapons is the MiG-31K/I — strike aircraft, which has already been used to launch ballistic missiles X-47M2, it is supposed to be equipped with a version of the Zircon air-to-air missile. Due to the smaller size of the missiles, the aircraft will be able to deliver several strikes at once in one flight.