Russia Attacked Ukraine with Kh-22/32 and Zircon Missiles

Russia attacked Ukraine with Kh-22/32 cruise missiles and Zircon anti-ship missiles.

This was reported by the official Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Air Force.

In total, the enemy used 12 Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles, which were launched from the airspace of the Bryansk region of Russia.

At the same time, the enemy launched two 3M22 Zircon missiles from the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, although it is not reported from which carrier the Russians launched the missile. It should be noted that these types of missiles are used quite rarely.

However, of the 12 Kh-22/32 missiles launched, the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces intercepted nine, while the Zircon missiles could not be intercepted.

The Kh-22/32 missiles are representatives of the cruise missiles of the 1960s-1980s, which were developed for both anti-ship warfare and striking ground-based stationary targets. Despite this, their use remains limited, as the missile is quite inaccurate, and the number of models manufactured, according to available information, is small.

We also recommend reading the author’s article on Militarnyi: “Is Zircon actually a modified Onyx?”

At the same time, Zircon is a radically different development. Despite the secrecy of the project, Russia has already used this type of weaponry to strike Ukraine, which has allowed domestic experts to study individual components and details of the product.

In particular, the analysis confirmed that the 3M22 missiles used in Ukraine were a further development of the Soviet supersonic anti-ship missile 3M55 Onyx, created in the late 1970s.

The new speed characteristics, which significantly exceeded the capabilities of the Onyx, were most likely the result of a significant reduction in weight, which even included a reduction in the warhead. The updated missile also received more powerful fuel and a new direct-flow engine designed for higher speeds.

We recall that on March 25, 2024, during a morning Russian missile strike on Kyiv, Ukrainian air defenses successfully intercepted two Zircon hypersonic missiles.

The Telegram channel monitor reported that the missiles covered the 580-kilometer distance to the capital in three minutes, confirming their hypersonic flight speed. It is estimated at 11,600 km/h, or more than 9 Mach.

Such indicators rule out the possibility of using other types of weapons, such as Iskander or Kinzhal missiles. At the same time, they coincide with the declared characteristics of Zircon.