Submarines armed with hypersonic missiles pose a “serious threat”

The National Interest published an article in which the author, spoke about the potential danger of Russian submarines being armed with new hypersonic “Zircon” missiles.

Russia intends to supply the submarines of the “885M Yasen” project with hypersonic cruise missiles “Zircon”, which may pose a serious threat, above all, to NATO countries in Eastern Europe, the US-based newspaper “National Interest” published.

In his article, the author Kris Osborn mentioned that the first ship built according to the updated Project 885M, the Novosibirsk nuclear submarine, was launched in December 2019 and it is armed at the moment with supersonic “Onyx” and “Caliber” cruise missiles. Noting that if the hypersonic cruise missile “Zircon” is added to the main weapons, the specific Russian submarines will become a serious threat.

Kris Osborn previously “served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army – Acquisition, Logistics & Technology,” wrote that despite many attempts to counter hypersonic missiles, they remain “extremely dangerous”.

Launching them from submarines poses an additional threat. Ground launchers can be selected in advance. However, it is difficult to track submarines. Another problem is that modern, low-noise technologies allow submarines to move almost unnoticed. Unlike surface ships, which can be quickly tracked, they are able to approach coastal areas at risk.

The author asserts that adding hypersonic weapons to the existing armament of submarines will exacerbate the existing threat, which is already “significant”. Launching missiles from the ocean puts many potential targets on the mainland at risk.” the author of the article concluded..