Su-57 Gains New Hypersonic Strike Capability: Why the Zircon Mach 9+ Missile Could be a Game Changer

The Su-57 fifth generation fighter has been equipped with hypersonic weapons, according to the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander in Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces Lieutenant General Alexander Maksimtsev. “In accordance with the state defence order, the Aerospace Forces annually receive advanced and modernised weapon systems. The pace of deliveries of fifth generation Su-57 aircraft is increasing, along with modern aviation strike systems and hypersonic weapons,” the commander reported in an interview. Russian media outlets have hinted at the integration of hypersonic weapons onto the fighter for years, withthe state run TASS news agency in February 2023 reporting that a “small-sized air-to-surface hypersonic missile” for the Su-57 had reached prototype stages. The class of hypersonic missile in question remains highly uncertain, although it has been confirmed that an air-launched derivative of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile currently deployed from Russian Navy surface ships and submarines was under development.

The Zircon began its first combat duty on a Russian Navy surface warship in January 2023, and has since been used to equip the country’s attack submarines, while also being planned for integration on ground-based missile launchers. Then Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu previously observed: “The unique feature of Zircon hypersonic missiles is their guaranteed ability to bypass any existing or prospective air defence systems.” The missile program has been central to the modernisation of Russian anti shipping capabilities, and is expected to be relied on heavily to compensate for other shortcomings in the Russian Navy including its much diminished destroyer and cruiser fleets. Other than the Chinese YJ-21, the missile class remains totally unrivalled in its capabilities, and combines a 1000 kilometre range with a Mach 9 speed, with the sheer kinetic energy delivered by impact considered sufficient to disable even larger warships. For comparison, the most capable Western supersonic anti-ship missile the SM-6 has an engagement range estimated at just 450 kilometres, and travels at Mach 3.5 speeds.

Integrating the Zircon onto the Su-57, which combines a very long range with advanced stealth capabilities, could significantly increase the threat to hostile shipping, particularly as the Su-57 fleet is projected to grow to several hundred fighters by the late 2030s. A number of advanced new missile classes have been developed for the Su-57, with state media reporting in October 2023 that a new class of very long ranged cruise missile based on the Kh-101/102 that equips strategic bombers had been integrated onto the fighter. The missile was smaller than the original Kh-101/102, but retained the same range, which is estimated at approximately 3,500 kilometres. This would provide the Su-57 with by far the longest engagement range of any fighter class in the world, and was achieved by “a significant reduction in the size of the new ammunition thanks to the perfectly refined design of the folding wing and internal layout, as well as the use of a new small-sized bypass turbojet engine.” No significant further information in the missile program has yet to emerge.

There remains a significant possibility that a compact air-launched hypersonic missile class developed for the Su-57 would also be deployed more widely across the Russian fighter fleet, particularly as the Su-57 is currently fielded in only a single regiment. It was confirmed in late July that the fighter’s primary class of air-to-air missile, the R-77M, had begun to be deployed by frontline Su-35S fighter units, raising the possibility that it could later be fielded much more widely in the fleet. Making new missile classes developed for the Su-57 compatible with a wider range of fighters could also strengthen their prospects when competing for export orders. A leading candidate to field hypersonic air-launched weapons remains the MiG-31K/I strike fighter, which has been used to launch Kh-47M2 ballistic missiles multiple times, and has been reported to be intended to also launch an air-launched variant on the Zircon missile. The Zircon’s much smaller size would allow the aircraft to launch multiple missiles per sortie.