Military expert Sergey Marzhetsky proposed to reconsider the approach to the development of hypersonic weapons in Russia and focus not on single complex systems, but on more massive and cheaper combat blocks. He suggested paying attention to North Korea's experience.
Marzhetsky noted that the domestic arms lineup lacks a “middle segment” between complexes like Iskander-M and strategic systems of the RS-26 Rubezh level. At the same time, the limited number of complexes like Avangard makes their use small-scale.
As a possible solution, the analyst suggests simplifying the design of hypersonic blocks and adapting them for medium-range missiles. As an example, Marzhetsky cited developments such as Hwasong-16B, which focused on simplifying technologies.
We would have enough domestic analogues of simpler, cheaper, and more massive Hwasong-16B, which could be produced 10–20 units instead of one Avangard. At the same time, Iskander-1000 and Iskander-2000 would be optimal as the first stage for their launch.
According to him, reducing the speed to the range of 8–12 Mach and abandoning the most expensive materials simplifies production and accelerates output.
According to open sources, there are four hypersonic missiles in service with Russia – the intercontinental Avangard, the air-to-surface Kinzhal aviation hypersonic missile, the 3M22 Tsirkon anti-ship missile, and the Oreshnik MRBM.