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Further Reading

RT-2 - SS-13 SAVAGE

The task of developing a solid-fuel missile with a range of 10,000 -12,000 kilometers was approved by the ministerial Council in November 1959. The Korolev led OKB-1 was in charge of carrying out the design.

The development this solid fuel missile was to be conducted in two separate phases. The first phase provided for the development of a missile, designated as RT-1, with a range of 2500-3000 km using solid fuel. The RT-1 missile was subsequently developed and underwent flight test but was not deployed. It was hampered by a launch weight of 35.5 T and a payload of 800 kg with a very limited range of only 2,000 km, the same as the R-12.

By 1963, the preliminary design of the RT-2 missile had been completed. Flight tests were conducted in two phases from February 1966 through November 1968. The program was first detected by Western intelligence during an early 1900 km short-range flight test in late February 1966. A total of seven successful launches were carried out in the first phase of tests conducted during the first 6 months of testing in Kapustin Ya. Missiles were launched from adapted silos and the nose cones were successfully deployed. The second phase of testing took place at the Plesetsk test sight between October and November 1966. During this phase a total of 16 successful missile firings out of a total of 25 launches took place. 21 of these tests were at an intermediate range with the nose cone falling on the training site in Kamchatka. The other four were tested at maximum range with the nose cone falling into the Pacific Ocean.

The RT-2 was a three-stage missile with sequentially arranged stages equipped to carry a single reentry vehicle. According to Western estimates, the missile was capable of delivering a 1200 lb reentry vehicle to a maximum operational range of ~10,000 km and a CEP in the range of 0.7 to 1.0 nm. The three sustainer stages use solid-propellant motors connected by trellised trusses. Four trellised aerodynamic stabilizers were used to stabilize the missile during the active trajectory leg. Four split nozzles were used for flight. With a 500 kg nose cone of it had a maximum range of 10,000-12,000 km. Maximum range was decreased to 4,000-5,000 km when employing a heavier 1,400 kg nose cone. The guidance/control system incorporated both a gyro-stabilized platform with floating gyros as well as pendulous accelerometers.

There are three identified SS-13 variants. Variant 1 had a ballistic coefficient of approximately 300 lb per sq ft and a CEP believed to be 1.0 nm. The Variant 2 had a ballistic coefficient of approximately 730 lb per sq ft with a CEP assessed of about 0.7 nm. Both were believed to have a yield in the range 0.6 to 1.5 MT.

The system was deployed in hardened, dispersed, and unmanned silos. Silo and launch control hardness was estimated by Western sources at 1300 psi overpressure. Because of the heavy weight of the missile it had to be assembled directly in the silo. All the stages were separated and individually delivered to the silo for final assembly. The silo door was sealed and special climate conditions were created inside the silo to ensure an extended storage of the solid-propellant. The missile launch utilized a newly developed launch technique that became known as "mortar launch". With the tail unit of the missile protected in an isolated shroud, water was poured into the bottom of the launch canister. During the ignition of the first sustainer stage the water was rapidly heated creating steam. The steam formed underneath the missile, popping it out of the silo. The readiness for missile firing was 3-5 minutes.

A railway based version of the RT-2 missile was considered but never advanced beyond the preliminary design phase.

Deployment of the RT-2 missile began on 18 December 1968. According to Western estimates, the initial operational capability was probably achieved in 1969. Maximum deployment was reached in 1972 with deployment organized in the area of Yoshkar Ola. Despite the hardness of the silos and the relative simplicity of operation, the operational capabilities of the RT-2 were limited due to its small throw-weight and the short operational lifetime of that generation of solid-propellant motors. These characteristics contributed to the relative limited the deployment of only 60 RT-2 missiles.

In 1968, development of a modernized version of the RT-2 was undertaken. This new version was outfitted with a sophisticated control system and countermeasures for overcoming an ABM system. The missile received the designation RT-2P. The flight tests RT-2P were conducted from December 1969 through January 1972. In 1974 the RT-2M variant was deployed. This system was developed by Nadiradize, which finally took over the program in 1973.

The expected service time of the RT-2 and RT-2Ps was estimated to be 10 years. Periodic static tests of motors on firing stands which were carried out after extended storage allowed an extension of the time the missiles could remain in service. The missiles remained in service for more than twenty years, and were phased out by the middle of 1996 being replaced, in part, by 'topol' missile systems.