Russia carried out a new attack against Ukraine using cruise missiles Kh-22/Kh-32 and hypersonic anti-ship missiles 3M22 Zircon.
The information was released on January 24th by the official channel of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine no Telegram.
According to the statement, Russian forces launched a total of 12 Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles from the airspace in the Bryansk region, on Russian territory. At the same time, two 3M22 Zircon missiles were fired from temporarily occupied Crimea. It was not known which platform was used to launch the Zircon missiles, whose use in combat remains rare.
Ukrainian air defense managed to intercept nine of the 12 Kh-22/Kh-32 missiles. The Zircon missiles could not be shot down, according to the Air Force.
The Kh-22 and Kh-32 are cruise missiles originally developed between the 1960s and 1980s, designed for both anti-ship missions and attacks on land targets. Despite their high explosive load, these vectors are considered imprecise, in addition to existing in limited quantities, according to assessments available from open sources.
The 3M22 Zircon missile, in turn, represents a distinct generation of weapons. Although the program is surrounded by secrecy, the use of this missile against Ukraine has already allowed experts to analyze recovered components. These analyzes indicated that Zircon is a later development of the Soviet 3M55 Onyx supersonic anti-ship missile, created in the late 1970s.
According to technical evaluations, the significant speed gain of Zircon in relation to Onyx may have been achieved through a significant weight reduction, including the warhead, in addition to the adoption of more powerful fuel and a new ramjet engine optimized for hypersonic regimes.
The Ukrainian Air Force recalled that, on March 25, 2024, during a morning attack against Kiev, the air defense managed to intercept two Zircon missiles. At the time, monitoring channels reported that the targets covered around 580 kilometers to the capital in approximately three minutes, which would indicate estimated speeds of around 11,600 km/h, greater than Mach 9. These parameters are compatible with the declared characteristics of Zircon and would rule out the use of other systems, such as Iskander or Kinzhal.
In a related context, on January 22nd, the Russian Defense Ministry released a video apparently showing a strategic bomber Tu-22M3 carrying a missile Kh-22/Kh-32 during a flight over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft were escorted by Su-35S and Su-30SM fighters and, according to Moscow, accompanied in certain sections by fighters from other countries. The Russian government stated that all flights were carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace.
Sources and images: Telegram @zvezdanews | Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – Telegram @kpszsu. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
@militaryanalyseOn January 22, the Ministry of Defense of Russia released a video showing a strategic Tu-22M3 bomber carrying a Kh-22/Kh-32 missile during a flight over the Baltic Sea. Sources and images: Telegram @zvezdanews
