Posted on 03/26/2017 6:53:13 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Russia has developed an “unstoppable” hypersonic missile capable of destroying the Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warships, the Sunday People can reveal.
Kremlin military chiefs claim they have built an anti-ship cruise missile capable of travelling at between five and six times the speed of sound - 3,800 mph to 4,600mph.
Now experts fear the missile, called the Zircon, could sink the Royal Navy ’s two new £6bn state-of-the air aircraft carriers in a single strike.
The missile flies more than twice the speed of a sniper’s bullet and is almost impossible to stop.
The cruise missile is powered by a “scramjet” - an air-breathing jet engine that can reach incredible speeds.
A swarm attack involving a dozen missiles against the world’s most modern warships would be devastating, experts believe.
The Zircon missile is believed to have a range of up to 500 miles and can be fitted with a series of warheads from high explosive to nuclear.
It can be fired from land, sea and submarines and could prove to be the most important and deadly weapon of the 21st century.
(Excerpt) Read more at mirror.co.uk ...
They are magical and beyond the US’s abilities to defend.
There are no operational scramjet cruise missiles.
I see.
Well, that sounds like the missile would take the ACCarrier out of combat for some period of time.
That is a major thing in wartime...to send the enemy’s chief weapons systems home for repairs, out of combat for X weeks or months. Wars can be won or major advances achieved while the enemy is home patching up itself
SO, this missile sounds like it is still a pretty amazing (and serious) thing, imho, even if it won’t actually sink an Aircraft carrier outright. (Maybe it can capsize and sink Guam, tho? Like, how one of our famously-intelligent congresscritters suggested? smile smile smile smile smile)
>>The USA and Russia need to work together and wipe out the filthy, democrat socialist filth polluting our world with welfare soaking scum and islam.
<<
How pleasant to think of a worl without democrats.
Freepers throw words around like sink a carrier without thinking.
You wouldn’t want to be out on deck in a combat environment these days anyway.
Used. Thanks for the info. Some of us just admire the navy without ever having learned much about it.
Knirps for moisture.
Think of an AC carrier like big game. Could you kill a buffalo with a .22 rifle? Sure. A lucky hit in the eye and into the brain cavity would put it down. OTH 25 hits not in the head region might slow it down, might even put it down but if a veterinarian treated that wounded buffalo it could be nursed back to heath. War is random, war is luck or being unlucky. You never know.
Where do I get one?
Big, Big problem if they have a working version. This one in the picture is almost a 100% copy of one I was associated with. It is a U.S. company. The engine is the challenge. The Russians have been very interested in hypersonics for 20+ years. A working version virtually makes capital ships obsolete. For a properly designed version, there is only one method to stop it. For the Russian version I saw, there are two methods, but the additional one would be a challenge to deploy properly. Bottom line: I don’t think they have a working version yet. I have not seen any incremental successes for the engine they have.
By the way: the 3M22 Zircon pictured in the comments is the U.S. version. Just look at the patches on the engine.
Playing devils advocate here....
I’m sure the Chinese will be deploying similar ones on every outcropping and artificial island in the south China Sea. It would be a way to keep us out of there. Area denial. It would be too risky to our assets.
Same with the Russians. Weren’t the Russians harassing one of our destroyers 30 miles off the coast of Crimea with their jets? I doubt we would come that close to the coast if there were a few batteries of those missiles there. At least not during any kind of potential hostilities.
What about strategic chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz? Heck, they could sell a few to the Iranians just to p1ss us off. Just like they did with their AA missiles. Even if we could shoot them down, we would have a hard time defending all of the shipping through there.
All in all, another dangerous weapon that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
In peacetime you don’t normally shoot cruise missiles at other country ships in international waters.
I suspect that we are way ahead of the Russians on this subject.
Just wait until muzzies take over one of our European allies that has nuclear weapons. It’s only a matter of time.
That's a colorful comparison for those in the reading audience who think that "4,600 mph" isn't as fast as, say, a 747.
Regards,
I would hope not. A lucky hit would do a lot of damage given the fuel and munitions on board. Based on the LCS fisaco it appears the Navy forgot the lesson of the Belknap. Let’s hope they haven’t done something equally as stupid with the newest carriers.
A missile cannot cause damage below the waterline.
= = =
Well, yes it can.
Not too tricky, but you plan for it intentionally.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.