The Admiral Gorshkov frigate is the first Russian Navy ship to get Zirkons.

The Russian Federation is upgrading its surface ships and submarines with Zirkon hypersonic missiles, according to the head of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation, Alexey Rakhmanov. 

He said in an interview with RIA Novosti, a state-controlled news agency, that the 22350-type frigate called Admiral Gorshkov would be the first to receive the deadly missiles. 

"The arming of serial frigates with this [missile] system will be carried out in compliance with the plan of the Russian Ministry of Defense during their construction and operation. […] multipurpose nuclear-powered submarines Yassen-M will also be armed with Zirkon missiles as a standard procedure. Work in this direction is already underway," Rakhmanov stated.

He also claimed that Russia has put into operation three new ships and repaired one this year, and “at least five more ships” should be built by the end of 2023, without disclosing the class of ships or type of weapons for them.

The Yassen-M submarines, also known as 885M Project, are provided with cruise missiles and are expected to replace the Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of Russia's military modernization program.

The 9-meter-long sea-based hypersonic missiles Zirkon, as claimed by Russian propaganda, have a range of 900 km and can travel at a speed several times the speed of sound. In theory, this makes them a challenging target for anti-aircraft defense systems.

Development of these missiles has been underway for about 10 years, if not longer. The Kremlin first threatened the West with Zirkon missiles soon after the launch of the hybrid invasion in eastern Ukraine in 2014, though formally they were only put into service only in early 2023.

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The Russian military have developed a habit of exaggerating the capabilities of their weapons – and the war in Ukraine have busted many of Russian weaponry myths. In May 2023, for example, Ukrainian air defense forces repelled a Russian attack with Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles using US-made Patriot rockets to intercept what Moscow described as “unstoppable” weapons. 

In response, the Pentagon said it is monitoring the Admiral Gorshkov, and did not think the ship presented a threat that could not be countered.

“We are aware of the reports regarding the Russian launch of a frigate, the Admiral Grorshkov. We will continue to routinely monitor its activities as we maintain awareness of our operating environment,” said Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Roger Cabiness. “While we do not comment on specific capabilities or speculate on hypotheticals, the Department of Defense remains confident in our ability to deter our adversaries and defend United States national security interests at any time, in any place.”