Russian Strategic Weapons - Names
It is a tradition in Russian rocket engineering to name the weapons being developed, and some missile names, at first glance, are weakly associated with their appearance and purpose. The development code does not always reflect the specifics of the weapon being created. Mandatory conditions for the code are sonority, ease of transmission by voice (which is important in conditions of poor communication) and easy memorization. Accordingly, it is not at all necessary to see logic in codes (names), although associativity sometimes takes place.
Colonel General Viktor Yesin noted that the public is trying to link names like Topol or Yars to something, while these are just the names of experimental design work (RDW). The code is needed primarily to conceal the meaning of the development, while the factory name is completely different. "All R&D that is carried out by the defense industry complex," Yesin continues, "are combined into a single register, and each time the machine randomly selects a name, and then it is approved." Often, the name of the development is provided with an additional letter denoting its version, for example, "E". In the case of the Iskander-E missile system, the last letter means that this version is for export, and for the Topol-E, it is true that this is an experimental missile. The letter "K" in the example of the Iskander-K would mean that it is a cruise missile.
However, many names of domestic missiles have an associative nature, as in the case of the R-11 operational-tactical missile with a nuclear warhead. The name "Shkval" first appeared in the NATO classification under the code SS-1c Scud A (from English - "shkval"). Perhaps, by giving such a name, the Americans were focused on expanding the basing locations of the R-11 complex, which could be placed not only on land, but also at sea. The R-11 missile was popularly nicknamed "kerosene", since high-boiling fuel components - kerosene and nitric acid - were used during its launch.
"Baby" was the harmless name given to the 9K11 rocket-guided anti-tank projectile, only 86 cm long and weighing 10.9 kg, developed in the Kolomna Machine-Building Design Bureau in 1960. Meanwhile, the baby missile could hit both land and surface targets at a distance of up to 3 kilometers. "Topol" The RT-2PM2 "Topol-M" strategic missile system did not catch on with its American name (according to NATO classification - SS-27 Sickle B, from English - "sickle"). Everything is clear with the NATO code - the flight trajectory of this ballistic missile really has a sickle shape. But the name "Topol", according to some experts, is associated with the dimensions of the missile - a diameter of 1.81 m, a height of 22.7 m, let's add here a vertical takeoff, which is associated with the pyramidal poplars growing in the southern regions of Russia. But perhaps there is a random choice of name, as General Yesin said.
The letter "M" indicates that this version of the missile is launched not from a silo, but from a mobile installation. "Voevoda" One can only guess about the origin of the name of the R-36M2 strategic missile system "Voevoda". It is possible that it reflects the status of the missiles: after all, voevoda is a common name for military commanders and representatives of state power in Rus'. In NATO classification, the missile received the designation SS-18 Mod.1,2,3 Satan – “Satan”.
The latter name stuck along with “Voevoda” and apparently symbolized the horror that arose when mentioning this terrible weapon. And there was something to be afraid of. By the mid-70s – early 80s, it really was the most powerful means of delivering a nuclear munition, capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 11 thousand kilometers. The warhead of the “Satan” housed a nuclear charge with a capacity of 400 Hiroshimas! Moreover, the modernized “Voevoda” could “rain” dozens of highly maneuverable and virtually invulnerable to air defense warheads on the enemy’s heads. According to experts, a strike from 10 “Satan” missiles could destroy up to 80% of the US industrial potential and a significant part of the country’s population.
"Iskander" The 9K720 missile system was named after Alexander the Great, who was nicknamed "Iskander" in the East. Iconography depicted Alexander the Great-Iskander in a two-horned helmet - it is no coincidence that the system itself carried two missiles. Like the great commander, "Iskander" is virtually invulnerable to the enemy: it maneuvers with enormous overloads, practically unattainable for an interceptor missile, and the low flight altitude (up to 6 meters) makes this weapon invisible to standard radar equipment.
In 2001, the Russian defense industry released the heavy flamethrower multiple launch rocket system TOS-1A "Solntsepek", which became a modification of the Soviet "Buratino" installation. Another telling name. The principle of operation of "Solntsepek" is the delivery of an explosive mixture to the destruction zone by a rocket, which, when detonated, turns into a burning cloud, literally burning out all living things within a radius of several dozen meters. Considering that in the explosion zone of such a charge, the pressure is approximately 160 mm of mercury below atmospheric pressure, it is impossible for the enemy to survive there.
"Sarmat" is a heavy 35-meter missile with a range of up to 16 thousand km, created on the basis of "Voevoda", is currently the apogee of domestic design thought and a guarantor of retaliation. Western experts dubbed it "Satan-2". The missile frightens NATO with two characteristics – the ability to pass through any missile defense lines and its enormous destructive power. There is another feature: the missile can attack the enemy through both the North and South Poles, which is associated with the scale of the migration flows of the ancient nomadic people of the Sarmatians, after whom it was named.
In his 2018 speech to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited viewers to help the Ministry of Defense and come up with names for some of the newest weapons systems that are in the testing phase. The discussion was about three types of strategic weapons being developed – a global-range missile with a nuclear power plant, an unmanned underwater vehicle, and a laser system, the details of which are not disclosed. According to the head of state, proposals can be left on the Defense Ministry website. Vladimir Vladimirovich had barely finished his speech when name options began pouring in.
For example, presidential aide Vladislav Surkov said that the newest Russian weapons could bear the names of heroes of the war in Donbass, for example, “Givi” (the call sign of the legendary commander of the DPR “Somali” battalion, Mikhail Tolstykh). There were proposals to name weapons after children's fairy tale heroes: to call a combat laser system "Iskorka", a hypersonic missile system with a guidance system - "Tsokotukha", and an unmanned underwater platform - "Goldfish". There were also names that speak to the Russian ear, such as "Pesets" or "Kuzkina Teshcha".
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