Russia It is the only country in the world with the capacity to launching hypersonic cruise missiles from submarines and now it is going to increase it. The admiral Alexander Moiseyevcommander in chief of the Navy Russian, has confirmed that the Perm nuclear submarine will enter service before the end of 2026. The announcement was made this July 26 during the events of the Navy Day at the naval headquarters of Saint Petersburgafter Russia reduced the profile of the parade for the second year in a row for fear of Ukrainian attacks. Moiseyev informed Vladimir Putin What the Navy expects incorporate another 21 ships during the remainder of the year, including the Permaccording to Eurasian Times.
If the announced deadline is met, Perm will be the world’s first submarine in service that has been designed and built from the ground up to launch hypersonic cruise missilesin this case the 3M22 Zircon. Already in 2021, the class submarine Yasen Severodvinsk fired two 3M22 Zircon missiles during tests. The first, on the surface and the second from a submerged position. But this submarine had not been designed with this capacity like the Perm, but rather had to be adapted to be able to do it.
Perm, fifth Yasen-M class submarine
The Yasen class, called Project 885 In Russia, it groups multipurpose nuclear submarines capable of pursuing other submarines and attacking ships or land targets with cruise missiles. Severodvinsk was the first unit. The following belong to the Project 885M Yasen-Ma shorter, automated and silent variant. The Perm is the fifth Yasen-M and the sixth submarine in the entire family. It was designed by the office Malakhitbuilt by Sevmash and launched in March 2025.
The exact data is classified, but the known figures for the Yasen-M class place its length at about 130 meters and its movement submerged in 13,800 tonsin front of 8,600 tons on surface. The crew would be around 64 sailors and estimates place its maximum underwater speed at about 65km/h. It has nuclear propulsion, ten torpedo tubes of 533 millimeters and eight vertical launch modules capable of hosting up to 32 missiles. It also incorporates a coating to reduce its acoustic signature and a removable rescue chamber with capacity for the entire crew.
Military analysts have long argued that hypersonic weapons launched from stealth nuclear submarines pose an especially difficult challenge to naval defenses. A platform like Perm could approach high-value targets undetected and launch long-range precision strikes against warships, coastal infrastructure or military installations.
The submarine is planned to carry a combination of Zircon missiles, Kalibr and Onikswhich will allow them to adapt their weapons to missions against ships, land or submarine targets.
3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile
The 3M22 Zircon is a naval-launched hypersonic cruise missile designed for attack ships and ground targets. Russia attributes 500 and 1,000 kilometers range and a speed of Mach 8 to Mach 9approximately equivalent to between 9,800 and 11,000 km/h. The combination of its high speed and its maneuverability aims to reduce the opponent’s reaction time and make it difficult to intercept by existing air defense systems. 3M22 Zircon can carry a conventional or nuclear chargealthough many of its characteristics and real performance have not been able to be verified.
United States, behind
The United States intends to add hypersonic weapons to some submarines Virginia Block V at the beginning of the decade 2030. Your system Conventional Prompt Strike It uses a rocket to accelerate a hypersonic glider vehicle and is not a cruise missile like the Zircon. The US Navy plans to deploy it sooner on destroyers Zumwaltbut the program is accumulating delays and its first on-board tests are now scheduled for 2027.
The Poseidon, in its final phase of development
During the Navy Day events, Putin assured that The Poseidon is in the final phase of development and Russia is preparing to put it into combat service. Although it is often described as a supertorpedois actually a large unmanned underwater vehicle, powered by a nuclear reactor and designed to transport a nuclear payload. The Poseidon can be launched from specially adapted nuclear submarines, such as the Belgorodand from platforms built expressly to transport it, such as the Khabarovsk.
The estimates attribute some 20 meters longnearly two meters in diameterability to operate at depths close to 1,000 meters and speeds between 100 and 200km/h. Its reactor would give it virtually unlimited range. These figures come largely from Russian claims and external analysis. Poseidon is conceived as strategic weapon of retaliation against ports and other coastal targetsnot as a conventional torpedo intended to directly combat other submarines.