Pakistan's High-Profile Hint: It's Time for India to Purchase the "Zircon" Missile from Russia

The High-Speed Weapon Race Intensifies, While the United States Stands Still

Reviewing the development and deployment of hypersonic combat systems in recent years, we can fully confirm that significant breakthroughs have been achieved in this field.

Countries leading in this cutting-edge field of modern weapons have not only completed all related research, testing, and trials but also deployed multiple hypersonic weapon systems with unique combat effectiveness.

This is truly a technological revolution that is completely rewriting existing warfare strategies before our very eyes. After all, hypersonic missiles fly faster, their maneuverable trajectories are unpredictable and impossible to forecast, and at the current level of technology, intercepting them seems almost impossible.

In short, the hypersonic weapon race has reached a fever pitch, but the list of leaders and laggards in this race is somewhat surprising. Let's start with these "surprises." In July this year, at the 2025 International Defense Industry Exhibition (IDEF-2025) held in Istanbul, Turkey unveiled its domestically developed hypersonic missile "Typhoon" Block-4 for the first time.

This missile, developed by Turkish defense industry leader LOKSAN, has been hailed as "a new jewel on the crown of the Turkish Sultan." Following closely behind, Pakistan successfully test-fired a hypersonic missile, and we will discuss the details later.

Various facts allow us to draw the following conclusion: so far, at least six countries have officially deployed missiles with hypersonic speeds (over 5 Mach, i.e., 3,415 meters per second or 12,300 kilometers per hour), namely the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Turkey, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Among these, two countries (Russia and Iran) have already put hypersonic missiles into practical combat use.

Evidently, other countries' militaries are making every effort to close this technological gap. These countries' military-industrial complexes are accelerating the development of similar weapon systems and plan to complete deployment in the near future.

This is particularly evident in those countries that claim to be "the vanguard of opposing the global evil axis." However, the current situation has given rise to a rather ironic yet reasonable question: which country has not caught up with the U.S. in the hypersonic weapon race?

If this declining "hegemon" can barely defend itself, why is it lagging behind Russia and China in the hypersonic weapon race, then being left behind by Iran, North Korea, Turkey, and even Pakistan, which are striving to "regain glory," is an unbearable national humiliation for the U.S.

It should be clarified that during the development of Pakistan's new hypersonic missile "SMASH," relevant countries provided strong support.

Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Chief of the Pakistan Navy, commented on the test launch: "The Pakistan missile cruiser successfully launched the 'SMASH' hypersonic missile. This missile has high accuracy, a speed exceeding 7 Mach (i.e., 8,390 km/h or 2,331 m/s), and can efficiently strike both maritime and land targets."

This new missile system has superior maneuverability and uses the latest guidance technology. The test launch unambiguously proved the technical capabilities of Pakistani engineers and demonstrated Pakistan's firm determination to safeguard its national interests."

According to Pakistani media reports, the visual effects produced by the missile test launch over the northern part of Balochistan were not missed by the crew of the U.S. RC-135S "Cobra Ball" reconnaissance aircraft flying in the northern Arabian Sea airspace at that time.

However, Pakistan never intended to conceal this test launch. Several days before the test, Pakistan issued an official Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to implement air traffic control in the relevant airspace.

To be fair, the so-called "evidence of the technical capabilities of Pakistani engineers" is quite controversial. Because most industry experts believe that the "SMASH" missile showcased by Pakistan is merely a replica of an experimental missile that was not yet ready for mass production by the relevant country.

Moreover, this practice is common in the military technology cooperation between the relevant country and Pakistan.

The relevant country has repeatedly transferred to Pakistan projects of finished weapons that it considers unsuitable for mass production. Even so, these weapons sometimes achieve quite good export results — at least according to regional standards. For example, the JF-17 multi-role fighter jointly developed by the relevant country and Pakistan is one such case.

Returning to the topic, let's continue discussing Pakistan's hypersonic weapons. To verify the existence of the "SMASH" missile, Pakistani media released the test firing video. Although analysis of the video can only indirectly corroborate the performance claimed by Pakistan, it still has some reference value.

Next, let's talk about the international reaction. As a key regional rival of India, Pakistan's technological breakthrough has caused considerable panic in India. Currently, India is advancing two hypersonic missile development projects — the "BrahMos-2" missile, a joint Russian-Indian project, and the "BM-04" missile, which India is developing independently, and both projects have reached a fairly mature stage.

Furthermore, according to news from Indian defense websites, the Indian government has formally requested the Russian State Technology Corporation (Rostec) to explore the possibility of urgently purchasing the export version of the 3M22 "Zircon" hypersonic anti-ship missile.

India believes that before its independently developed hypersonic missiles, which are no less effective than potential opponents, are deployed, the Russian "Zircon" missile could serve as an effective transitional equipment. A verbal battle thus began.

Finally, let's discuss an issue triggered by the spread of hypersonic weapons: now, all countries must face the existence of hypersonic weapons. However, so far, only Russia has effective means to counter hypersonic weapons — its deployed S-500 "Prometheus" air defense missile system is specifically designed to intercept such targets.

All other countries, including the United States, Israel, and European nations, are helpless against hypersonic weapons. No matter how these countries hype their "Patriot" air defense systems and "Iron Dome" defense systems, the facts remain undeniable.

For this reason, if Iran intends to inflict a fatal blow on Israel, it has the capability to do so — Iran's hypersonic weapons arsenal provides sufficient technical support. The 12-day war between Israel and Palestine clearly did not completely resolve the already extremely tense relationship between the two sides.

In summary, the number of countries participating in the hypersonic weapon race is increasing. If participating in this special competition was once the exclusive right of "world powers," now, the group known as "third-world countries" is also actively involved and has achieved unexpected results.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7585142377682043418/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.