SS-30 SATAN 2 / RS-28 / 15A28 Sarmat
New Heavy ICBM
The RS-28 "Sarmat" was a Russian heavy liquid intercontinental ballistic missile intended to replace the R-36M2 Voyevoda / SS-18 SATAN , a missile system of Ukrainian design and manufacture. It had been developed since the 2000s by specialists of V.P. Makeyev State Rocket Center JSC (Miass, Chelyabinsk Region) as a replacement for the Voevoda R-36M2 complex, which had been designed and manufactured in Ukraine. The RS-20 was developed in Soviet times by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk and was mass-produced at the Yuzhmash plant in Ukraine. Almost all of these missiles had to be written off due to old age. The missiles of the latest version of the RS-20V "Voevoda" remained in service. But they are also nearing the end of their lives. Notably, Makeyev had previously failed in the effort to develop the R-39M Grom [Bark] / SS-N-28 submarine launched missile.
Sarmatia was the ancient name of a region between the Volga and Vistula Rivers now covering parts of Poland, Belarus, and SW Russia. Etymology of the name Sarmat was disputed, the old Eurocentric ideas receding and reformed with each new "surprising" discovery. Ideas reflect the corners hosting the authors, with the least attention paid to the Uralic peoples and known Sarmatian ethnology.
Full-fledged flight tests of the Sarmat were postponed several times. They were expected in 2019, then in 2020-2021. Several throw tests of this missile were carried out, when jet catapults throw a full-weight model of the missile out of the silo to the height of the main engines.An attempt by the Russian nuclear deterrent forces to test a new intercontinental ballistic missile on September 21, 2024, ended in complete failure and a fire at the launch site. The last successful test of the Sarmat was April 20th, 2022. With these events now official, this is at least the 4th failed test attempt of the "combat operational" Sarmat Heavy ICBM.
The X account @MeNMyRC1 shared a Planet Labs satellite image, courtesy of @MT_Anderson. Captured on September 21, 2024, at 06:50:16 UTC, the image reveals a significant crater, supporting the explosion theory. @MeNMyRC1 commented, “My thanks to @MT_Anderson for providing this Planet Labs imagery and allowing me to publish it with comments. As is readily apparent, the RS-28 Sarmat test was a complete failure. The missile detonated in the silo leaving a massive crater and destroying the test site. The Sarmat is a liquid fueled missile so this accident could have occurred separate from the actual launch activity. If this occurred as part of the fueling process, it could explain the lack of Cobra Ball activity on the day of the incident. This first, and last successful test of the Sarmat was April 20th, 2022. With these events now official, this is at least the 4th failed test attempt of the "combat operational" Sarmat Heavy ICBM. Note the 4 fire trucks responding to the forest fire.”
On September 21st, @MeNMyRC1 observed some unusual activity regarding Cobra Ball 62-4128. The US Air Force plane, usually tasked with monitoring Russian intercontinental ballistic missile launches, was turned back shortly after deployment. “The results of this test remain unknown, but the data from various companies indicates two separate events at the Plesetsk launch pad, which seems quite unusual. Notably, neither Cobra Ball was seen flying during the thermal events recorded by business data sources,” noted @MeNMyRC1.
George Barros reported that "Maxar collected new high-resolution satellite imagery yesterday (September 21st) that reveals the aftermath of a dramatic launch failure of a Russian RS-28 ICBM at a launch site in the Plesetsk cosmodrome."
The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, one of Russia's most capable nuclear weapons, has been approved for active duty, Yury Borisov, the head of the Roscosmos space agency, announced 01 September 2023. The development was revealed during a Roscosmos event. The weapon was believed to be the longest-range and heaviest missile in the Russian nuclear arsenal.
The liquid-fueled silo-based delivery vehicle, final stage testing of which was completed last year, was the intended replacement for the aging R-36M2 Voevoda missiles. Its range was estimated at at least 11,000km, with a payload weighing around 10 tons. Russian President Vladimir Putin had touted the Sarmat's range as offering new opportunities for defeating anti-ballistic missile systems. Shorter-range ICBMs can, for example, only reach the US from Russia by flying over the Arctic, and the US has ground-based interceptors situated for such a flight path. Putin has repeatedly stressed that Russia was forced to develop the new weapon after the US reneged on its commitment not to build ABM systems.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said 20 April 2022 that Russia had successfully tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, saying the next-generation capable of carrying nuclear charges will make Kremlin's enemies "think twice." "I congratulate you on the successful launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile," Putin told the army in televised remarks. "This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure the security of Russia from external threats and make those who, in the heat of aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice."
The peculiarity of the missile, as Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, who oversees the defense industry, has repeatedly said, was that it, like the RS-20, was capable of delivering megaton-class nuclear warheads to the Western Hemisphere along any trajectory, including through the Southern pole.
Russia's test of a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile was not seen as threatening to the US and its allies, the Pentagon has said. Moscow "properly notified" Washington of the test following its obligations under the 2011 New START treaty, which placed limits on the two countries' nuclear weapons, said Department of Defense Spokesman John Kirby. "Testing is routine, and it was not a surprise," Kirby told reporters. The Pentagon "has not deemed the test to be a threat to the United States or its allies," he told reporters.
The prospective Sarmat complex with a liquid intercontinental ballistic missile would have a wide range of promising warheads, including new-generation hypersonic ones. This was told by the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces), Colonel General Sergei Karakaev in an interview with the army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezdaa, published on 16 December 2019. "The Sarmat complex provides for the possibility of installing, in addition to the existing types of warheads, a wide range of promising ones, including new-generation hypersonic ones," said Karakaev.
According to him, work was underway to prepare the lead missile regiment for rearmament to new complexes. Moreover, the properties, design, and characteristics of the complex have been studied at leading military universities for more than three years. "The Strategic Missile Forces are fully prepared for the new missile system to be put on combat alert," Karakaev emphasized, adding that the industry was currently continuing to prepare for Sarmat’s state flight tests.
In the "President's Address to the Federal Assembly" on 01 March 2018, Putin stated "the Ministry of Defense, in conjunction with the rocket and space industry, has begun an active phase of testing a new missile complex with a heavy intercontinental missile. We called it "Sarmat". This missile system would replace the complex "Voevod", created in the Soviet Union. Everyone always recognized his high fighting power. Our foreign colleagues, as you know, have appropriated to him even a very threatening name.
"But the capabilities of the rocket "Sarmat" are much higher. With a weight of over 200 tons, it has a short active part of the flight, which makes it difficult to intercept the missile defense. The range of a new heavy rocket, the number and power of combat blocks is more than that of Voevoda. "Sarmat" would be equipped with a wide range of nuclear weapons of high power, including hypersonic, and the most advanced missile defense systems. High characteristics for the protection of launchers and large energy capabilities would ensure the application of this complex in any situation.
"The "Voevod" has a range of 11 thousand kilometers, the new system of limitations on the range was practically nonexistent. As can be seen from the video, it was able to attack targets both through the North and South Pole. "Sarmat" was a very formidable weapon, because of its characteristics, it does not interfere with any even promising missile defense systems...."
The design of the missile has two stages (probably), with the the two-speed rocket "drowned" in the fuel tank, and the fuel tanks bearing with combined dividing bottoms. Block of warheads and warhead missiles layout are presumably on the classical for the UEC Makeeva scheme - warheads back on the flight.
In an interview with the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda on 12 March 2018, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said that the Russian army would receive a new heavy Sarmat ICBM with improved technical capabilities. "It is understood that, unlike its predecessors, it can also be equipped with hypersonic units that increase the problem of its interception on the part of anti-missile systems by an order of magnitude," Sarmat was expected to feature advanced countermeasures to enable it to penetrate missile defenses including a complex command and control system and a high degree of maneuverability, Strategic Missile Force commander Lt. Gen. Sergei Karakaev said on 17 December 2013.
The new missile, weighing at least 200 tons, would reportedly be capable of carrying a payload of up to 10 tons on any trajectory. This means an attack on a target could be made from any direction, i.e. RS-28 could start from Russia and fly in the direction of Antarctica, make a circumterrestrial flight and hit targets on the other side of the planet from an unexpected direction.
The new missile would replace the Voyevoda R-36M2 Satan ICBM. Russia’s solid-propellant ICBMs may be unable to penetrate missile defenses, the general said. The Sarmatian ballistic & orbital missile weighing in at 100 metric tons at launch would be capable of launching 4,350 kilograms throw-weight some 10,000 kilometers range as compared to the 10 warhead, 8.800 kg throw-weight at 10,000 kilometers range of the SS-18, Governor ICBM. This suggest a possible 4 warhead configuration design.
Subsequent description have indicated it would not merely replace the silo-based SS-18, (RS-20V and RS-20-VP) in the 2018-2020 time frame but would be operationally deployed in the 2018-2026 planned period. Early field deployment of strategic ballistic missile was the standard Soviet/Russian practice to wring out the system as it was also being flight tested. It mission would not only replace the SS-18 MIRV operations but it has also be assigned another serious task.
The first throw tests of the new rocket were carried out in December 2017. At the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the second tests of a new liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the heavy class "Sarmat" were carried out , during which the characteristics of the rocket were confirmed during the prelaunch preparation and at the initial stage of the flight. Such data was reported on 30 March 2018, by the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper - the official publication of the Russian Defense Ministry.
Tactical and technical characteristics of Russia’s Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile were disclosed for the first time at the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2019, held outside Moscow, a Sputnik correspondent reported on 27 June 2019. According to a booklet, presented as part of one of the event's exhibitions, Sarmat missile has the firing range of 18,000 kilometres (11,185 miles), while its launch mass totals 208.1 tonnes. Payload capacity of the missile amounts to less than 10 tonnes. The missile was 35.5 meters (116.5 feet) long and has 3 meters in diameter, while its fuel load was 178 tonnes. Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was one of the new weapons in Russia's strategic arsenal, which Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled back in 2018. This type of missile was expected to replace Voyevoda ballistic missiles. First mass-produced Sarmat missiles are scheduled to enter service in 2021.
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