Russia's Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV) is developing a hypersonic missile for the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter. According to Interfax, the Larchinka-MD missile will travel at five Mach. It will become almost impervious to modern air and missile defence systems. MD could be an abbreviation for Short Range.
The Russian news agency reports that the missile will be used against naval targets and ports and undergo tests by the end of this year. The new missile may be a replacement for the Kh-31 supersonic anti-ship missile.
Russia has been known for developing such missiles since 2019
The work is being done under the auspices of the Larchinka-MD R&D project. The product is still in the prototyping stage; flight tests have not yet commenced. The Soyuz TMKB is working on constructing a ramjet rocket engine (Turaevskoe Machine-Building Design Bureau). It is known that the rocket will be powered by an engine codenamed "item 70." The rocket's specifications have not yet been revealed, although it is expected to travel at speeds "beyond Mach 5".
Earlier today, Russia announced that it successfully tested its new devastating Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a submarine for the first time.
