Zircon Is Slower Than Russia Claims & Has Smaller Warhead Than Banderol — DIU

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has released detailed information on Russia’s 3M22 Zircon ballistic missile.

The agency published an interactive 3D model on the War&Sanctions portal, along with details about the missile’s components, manufacturers, their personnel, and the foreign-made equipment used in its production.

The missile was originally developed to strike targets from surface ships and nuclear-powered submarines equipped with 3S-14 (UKSK) launchers. However, due to difficulties in operating the fleet in the Black Sea, Russia adapted it for launch from Bastion-M coastal systems.

The 3M22 missile’s warhead weighs about 120 kg. By comparison, the compact Banderol cruise missile carries a 150-kg warhead.

The missile is launched from a container using a booster that provides the initial altitude and speed. After its separation, the sustainer motor ignites. Both motors use solid propellant. Initial trajectory correction toward the target is carried out by the missile’s altitude control thrusters. These are housed in a protective fairing that is later separated from the missile.

Russia’s claimed speed of Mach 9 does not correspond to the missile’s actual performance in combat. The recorded maximum speed of the 3M22 does not exceed Mach 6.8 and is not maintained throughout the entire flight.

The missile uses a combined guidance system consisting of two main stages. During the cruise phase, it relies on an inertial navigation system, while in the terminal phase, it uses an active radar seeker.

Onboard computation and control are handled by the Baget-83 digital computing system. This module is standard across most Russian ballistic missiles.

The missile’s maneuvering is controlled by electro-hydraulic steering actuators and deployable aerodynamic control surfaces in the tail section. The control surfaces are folded when the missile is in its transport configuration.

The entire tail section of the 3M22 missile is made of titanium to withstand the associated loads. It houses the missile’s flight controls.

In addition to technical specifications, the DIU published data on 70 companies involved in the production of the missile.

The Zircon uses components from the United States, including the TGA2704 amplifier manufactured by TriQuint Semiconductor and the Altera Cyclone II EP2C5T144I8N KBBD9Y2043U field-programmable gate array (FPGA) from Intel.