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Moscow's military is outfitting its new Yasen-M submarines with the hypersonic Zircon missiles that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded as "unmatched," according to the head of Russia's largest shipbuilding company.
Many of the "multi-purpose" new Yasen-M submarines—which one expert previously described to Newsweek as the "crown jewel of the contemporary Russian Navy"—will carry the new Zircon missiles, Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
"Work in this direction is already underway," he said in an interview published on Monday.
Russia has heavily invested in its underwater military capabilities, crafting a submarine fleet that experts say far outstrips its surface vessels.
The Yasen-class vessels are nuclear cruise missile submarines (SSGNs), and at the start of 2023, Russia had nine SSGNs as part of its inventory. Included were two Yasen-M submarines, also known as Project 08851 or by its NATO reporting name, Severodvinsk II.
Experts say the Yasen-class submarines are fast, quiet, and certainly a "challenge" to Western capabilities. It "will require, clearly, a greater effort in order to track and neutralize" the high-tech vessel, Mark Grove, a senior lecturer at the University of Lincoln's Maritime Studies Center at the Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, U.K, previously told Newsweek.
Another Yasen-M submarine will enter service with the Russian navy by the end of 2023, Rakhmanov told state news outlet, Tass, in mid-June. This third Yasen-M, the Krasnoyarsk, has been undergoing trials since June 2022, Russian state media reported. In the interview published on Monday, Rakhmanov said the Krasnoyarsk was still undergoing state-run trials.
The Yasen-M submarines can carry Russia's sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, which have frequently targeted Ukrainian cities from the Black Sea, and Russia's new Zircon, or Tsirkon, hypersonic missile.
In January 2023, Putin praised the Zircon, saying that "such powerful weapons will reliably protect Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure the national interests of our country."
The Russian frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov, already carries Zircon missiles. Russia's navy also test-launched the Zircon missile from the Severodvinsk submarine, Moscow's military said in October 2021.
In late July, Putin said the latest Zircon missile systems were "unmatched globally and unstoppable," adding during a Navy Day parade that their "delivery to the Russian armed forces will begin in the coming months," according to Russian state media.
The Zircon is one of a host of next-generation weapons in development for Russia's military, and has claimed the Zircon can travel up to nine times the speed of sound and up to 1,000 kilometers, or around 620 miles. Russia's hypersonic arsenal also includes its Kinzhal missile, which Ukraine has repeatedly said it has intercepted using a U.S.-made Patriot system.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more