The Northern Fleet’s Admiral Gorshkov, the lead ship of the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates, has served as a frequent testbed for Tsirkon, launching the missile at least seven times from January 2020 onward.
The Russian Navy previously announced that the Tsirkon missile has entered a final stage of acceptance trials, with five further test launches planned from November to December.
Earlier this month Vladimir Putin called on his country’s arms manufacturers to develop even more advanced hypersonic missiles as well as high-energy lasers to maintain Russia’s edge in military technologies.
The 6,670 mph weapon hit a target in the Barents Sea according to the Moscow defence ministry, who claims the missile is in fact capable of Mach-9 speeds at over 6,900 mph and is able to evade all defences.