Russia Freezes Development of New Zmeevik Anti-Ship Missile

Work on the promising project has been suspended for an indefinite period

Russia is suspending the creation of a new Zmeevik ballistic anti-ship missile (ASM) with hypersonic combat equipment for an indefinite period. This is reported by the military ZVEZDA Weekly.

Launch of a ballistic anti-ship missile.
Launch of a ballistic anti-ship missile.

According to the publication, citing a source in the defense industry, all the efforts of manufacturers and designers are now focused on "improving all the missile weapons that are already flying" and on optimizing existing programs and series.

Zmeevik, although it has its advantages in the future, did not manage to become a serial hypersonic missile, like, for example, Zircon: Zircons are equipping all the new Russian frigates and corvettes under construction. Or the Kinzhal missile, first tested in 2023 by the supersonic Su-34, which is being installed on all bombers.

The development of Zmeevik became known in 2022. The missile was intended to destroy large surface targets of the enemy, including individual aircraft carriers and aircraft carrier groups.

At the same time, it was not noted who exactly is the developer of the promising ballistic anti-ship missile. The approximate characteristics of its future hypersonic combat equipment were also not named.

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