Tel Aviv: Israeli analysts say that there is clear forensic evidences that suggest that during the missile attack on February 7, 2024, Russian forces used a 3M22 Zircon missile to strike a target in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv.
According to senior analysts Tal Inbar and Yair Ramati, the photos of wreckage found in Kyiv indicates that this was probably the first operational shot of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile in a sea to ground mode with markings identifying it as ‘3M22’.
The Zircon is a hypersonic cruise missile, developed by the “Scientific Production Association of Machine Building” (NPO Mashinostroyeniya). It uses a solid booster and a SCRAMJET engine. The maximum range is 1,000 km with warhead capacity of about 300 kg. The cruise speed is Mach 8 at 30 to 35 km altitude. The guidance against land targets is probably GNSS and INS.
