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Russia To Deploy S-400 ‘Naval Missile’ On Its Latest Warship; Will Partner Zircon Hypersonic Missile The Russian Navy’s Project 22350M, will be outfitted with surface-to-air missiles, (SAM), with a maximum range of 400 kilometers, according to a recent report by Russian state media. According to the reports, these SAMs are derived from the 40N6 interceptor missiles of Russia’s most advanced S-400 air defense system. Overall, the Project 22350M frigates, armed with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles, and the 400-kilometer-range SAM, can be said to have unparalleled offensive and defensive capabilities, that very few types of ships in the world would be capable of challenging. Project 22350M is a large-sized version of the Project 22350 Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. The Admiral Gorshkov warship was recently in the headlines due to its ongoing expedition in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the first time a warship armed with hypersonic missiles has been put into combat duty. The Russian defense industry source explained that, such a three-fold increase in interception range would enable the Russian frigates to engage NATO’s long-range airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. The new 400-kilometer SAMs are speculated to be a naval analog of the 40N6 missile, the longest-range interceptor of the S-400 air defense system. This naval version of the 40N6 missile has reportedly been under development for over a decade. While its performance characteristics have not been specified. Russian reports suggest the missile will perform similarly to the 40N6. The 40N6 was designed and developed by the Russian missile maker MKB Fakel, and reportedly manufactured by the Moscow-based MMZ Avangard. The missile is primarily deployed against airborne high-value targets, like Reconnaissance & EW aircraft, air command posts, strategic bombers, hypersonic cruise, and ballistic missiles. As per official sources, the missile’s maximum range against aerodynamic targets is up to 380 kilometers, and the minimum range is up to 5 kilometers. while the maximum height up to which it can engage targets is 30 kilometers. The average speed of the missile is around Mach 3.4, and the maximum speed is said to be around Mach 9. It can reportedly engage targets at a speed of up to Mach 15.6. The missile carries a blast-fragmentation warhead and is also equipped with active radar guidance, which reportedly enables it to destroy targets outside of the radio visibility of ground-based locators. The missile is said to have 95 percent accuracy. it is possible that the integration of long-range ballistic missile defense systems onboard the Project 22350M frigates could also enable them to complement the land-based S-400 and S-500 air defense systems.
