# Ukrainian intelligence dossier suggests Zircon is a solid-rocket missile, not a scramjet

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/ukrainian-intelligence-dossier-suggests-zircon-is-a-solid-rocket-c0b039f1
Date: 31 Aug 2026
About: [NPO Mashinostroyeniya](https://technooptimist.io/companies/npo-mashinostroyeniya.md) · [3M22 Zircon](https://technooptimist.io/aviation/zircon.md)
Original source: https://www.twz.com/sea/russias-zircon-may-not-be-a-hypersonic-cruise-missile-after-all

Ukraine's military intelligence published a breakdown of Zircon listing a 3L2211 solid-fuel rocket motor from NPO Iskra and no air-breathing engine, and wreckage analysis found what looks like a second-stage solid motor. If correct, Zircon is a manoeuvring quasi-ballistic missile rather than the scramjet cruise missile Russia describes, though the evidence is not conclusive.

## Key facts

- Names 70 enterprises and 84 people in the missile's development and production.
- GUR figures: Mach 8-9 maximum, about 26 ft long, roughly 265 lb warhead.
- Foreign parts found include an amplifier tied to TriQuint (now Qorvo) and an Altera FPGA.

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