3M22 Zircon
'Hypersonic' anti-ship and land-attack missile, used against Ukraine
Presented by Russia as an 'unstoppable' hypersonic cruise missile with a scramjet, Mach 8–9 and ≈ 1,000 km range; originally an anti-ship weapon for frigates (Admiral Gorshkov class), submarines (Yasen-M) and the Bastion-P coastal battery. Used against ground targets in Ukraine since February 2024, mainly Kyiv, from Crimea and from Russian border regions. In late August 2026 Ukrainian Defence Intelligence (HUR) published a component analysis that contradicts that picture: a two-stage solid-propellant missile on a quasi-ballistic trajectory, with a warhead of only ≈ 120 kg and a measured top speed of at most Mach 6.8, not sustained. Use has risen sharply: per HUR ≈ 40 in 2026, against six in the two years before. Ukraine regularly reports intercepts (including four on 24 Sep 2026). Not a VKS weapon, but a core element of Russia's strategic air-strike campaign that air defence has to counter.
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- Missile (L × Ø, span)
- ≈ 9–10 m × Ø 0.6 m (estimates)
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia; WEG (ODIN)
General
- Type
- Anti-ship / land-attack missile; RU: hypersonic cruise missile, HUR (Aug 2026): two-stage quasi-ballistic/boost-glide
- Propulsion
- RU: liquid-fuel scramjet; HUR: two solid-propellant motors (booster + 3L2211 sustainer, NPO Iskra)
- Launch platforms
- Frigates (Project 22350), submarines (Yasen-M), Bastion-P coastal battery (also from Crimea)
- Use against Ukraine
- Since Feb 2024; ≈ 6 in the first two years, ≈ 40 in 2026 (HUR); 20 in 1–19 July 2026
Performance
- Max range
- ≈ 540 NM (1,000 km) — RU claim, accepted by HUR
- Speed
- RU claim Mach 8–9; HUR: recorded maximum ≤ Mach 6.8 and not sustained
- Warhead
- ≈ 120 kg (HUR) — smaller than that of the cheap Banderol (≈ 150 kg)
- Stockpile / production
- ≈ 40 (2024) → ≈ 230 (2026); annual output ≈ 30 (HUR estimates, not independently confirmed)
- Diverging estimate (Oct 2026)
- HUR now puts the stockpile at more than 120 Zircons — well below the ≈ 230 above; which estimate is right cannot be established — source: Euromaidan Press / NV, RU Mil Tracker e-20261023-02; Ukrainian estimate, cannot be independently verified
Threat
- Effect
- Very short warning time against high-value targets (C2, energy, industry, ships)
- Countermeasure
- Hit-to-kill interception (Patriot PAC-3); Ukraine reports several intercepts — interceptable, so not 'unstoppable'
- Threat level
- Very high, but scarce and expensive — analysts say Russia saves it for priority targets
News archive 13
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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Ukraine's HUR names 30 foreign-made machines used by Russian ballistic missile producers, including Chinese five-axis centres and German Rohde & Schwarz equipment
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) has published details of 30 items of foreign-made technological equipment that it says are used by Russian factories producing ballistic missiles and their components, such as altimeters, aerodynamic rudders and gyroscopes. According to HUR, the equipment was made in China, Germany, Taiwan, the US, Türkiye, Switzerland a…
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Ukraine confirms missile strike on Energiya plant in Yelets, sole Russian maker of glide-bomb guidance batteries and supplier for Iskander and Kinzhal
On the afternoon of 25 October, missiles struck the Energiya plant in Yelets, Lipetsk Oblast, about 250 km from the Ukrainian border. The Ukrainian OSINT community Exilenova+ said the strike most likely involved UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Lipetsk Governor Igor Artamonov confirmed a strike on Yelets's industrial zone and said one person was in…
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HUR: Russia keeps missile stocks steady at up to 700 ballistic and several thousand cruise missiles, produces 200+ missiles a month, and has ordered over 100,000 Geran-type drones and decoys for 2026
According to figures Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) gave the Ukrainian outlet NV, published on 20 October 2026 and reported by Euromaidan Press, Russia holds up to 700 ballistic missiles and several thousand cruise missiles in reserve, roughly the same level HUR reported in July despite the autumn mass strikes. Russia can produce more than 200 missil…
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Russia hits Kyiv with Iskander-M, S-400, Zircon and Oniks missiles and 210 drones, including cluster-armed Iskanders in the historic centre, hours after the Putin–Witkoff meeting; at least 9 killed across Ukraine
Russia launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine from 18:00 on 21 October 2026 into the morning of 22 October, with Kyiv as the main target. According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia fired Iskander-M ballistic missiles, S-400 missiles, Zircon and Oniks missiles from Kursk, Bryansk and Rostov oblasts, together with 210 drones: Shahed (110 of the…
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Russia fires 39 ballistic-trajectory missiles and 128 drones, 77 of them jet-powered, at Ukraine overnight on 13-14 October: three killed in Kyiv, power cut in five districts
Russia carried out a massed combined strike on Ukraine between 18:00 on 13 October and the morning of 14 October, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. It says its radio-technical troops tracked 167 air-attack assets. These were 39 missiles flying ballistic trajectories, listed as Iskander-M, KN-23, S-400, Zircon and Oniks and launched from Kursk, Bryansk,…
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«Понад 52 тисячі цілей за місяць: Повітряні Сили оприлюднили результати роботи у вересні» (ArmyInform: More than 52,000 targets in a month: the Air Force publishes its September results)
ArmyInform, the news agency of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, reports the Ukrainian Air Force's results for September 2026, published on 10 October. According to the Air Force, Ukraine's Defence Forces destroyed more than 4,700 aerial targets during the month and also neutralised more than 48,000 tactical-level UAVs, giving the headline total of over 52…
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Russian combined strike on Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, 29-30 Sep: Zircon/Oniks, Iskander and 188 drones, energy infrastructure the main target
According to Ukraine's Air Force, Russia attacked Ukraine on the night of 29-30 September (from 18:00 on 29 September) with Zircon/Oniks anti-ship missiles launched from Kursk Oblast, Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles launched from Voronezh and Bryansk oblasts, and 188 drones: Shahed (86 of them jet-powered), Gerbera attack drones and Parodiya decoy UAVs.…
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Night of 28-29 Sep: Russia strikes Ukraine with a Zircon, two ballistic missiles and 152 drones; Air Force claims 109 downed, two unexploded ballistic warheads defused in Kyiv
Russia attacked Ukraine overnight on 28-29 September 2026 with one Zircon/Oniks anti-ship missile, two Iskander-M or S-400 ballistic missiles (launched from Kursk Oblast) and 152 drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force. The drones were Shahed types (82 of them jet-powered), Gerbera attack drones and Parodiya decoys, launched from Oryol, Millerovo, Kursk an…
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Russia strikes Kyiv with drones by day, then Zircon and Iskander-M missiles overnight; Zelensky claims 60% of ballistic missiles intercepted
Over roughly 24 hours on 23–24 September 2026, Russia struck Kyiv first with a daytime drone attack and then overnight with a combined missile and drone strike. On the morning of 23 September, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported drone hits on petrol stations in Holosiivskyi and Darnytskyi districts, a transport infrastructure facility, a four-storey busine…
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Russia widens strike campaign on Ukrainian industry and logistics: steel mills halted, Interpipe plant hit in Dnipro, 2.1 million m² of warehouses destroyed
Russian ballistic missile strikes in early September 2026 knocked out three of Ukraine's largest steel plants — two operated by Metinvest in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions and one operated by ArcelorMittal — which together account for roughly 90% of Ukraine's steel output. According to Meduza's summary of Financial Times reporting, Metinvest's…
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Russia ramps up ballistic strikes on Ukraine using converted S-400 missiles
Russia has driven its ballistic missile campaign against Ukraine to record intensity through mass use of the RM48U — a converted training/target missile originally built on decommissioned S-400 interceptor missiles (48N6DM family) and used to train air-defence crews — according to a Reuters exclusive based on official Ukrainian data. The missiles are now fi…
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Ukraine's Defence Intelligence discloses 155 Ruselectronics enterprises supplying components for Russian weapons
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) has published data on 155 enterprises that are part of, or managed by, the Ruselectronics (Roselektronika) holding, a subsidiary of Russia's state corporation Rostec. The information was added to the "aggressor's military-industrial complex" section of HUR's War&Sanctions portal. The holding groups plants and research in…
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Russia hopes its 80-missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov will return to service after nearly 30 years of repairs
SINGLE SOURCE — Ukrainian defence media (Defense Express), not independently verified. The report says Russian state media are circulating claims that the heavy nuclear-powered battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov (Project 1144 Orlan, NATO reporting name Kirov-class) will return to the Russian Navy's combat composition after almost three decades under repair. The…