New Russian missiles Sarmat and frontier. News from the President: ICBM project “Sarmat. Explosive advertising of Russia

The newest intercontinental ballistic missile"Sarmat" in the coming years will not appear in the Russian military, said Vladimir Gorbulin, director of the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies. This was reported by the "Defense Industrial Courier" news agency.

Gorbulin said he was "frankly offended" by the recent speech of the Russian president before the Federal Assembly, during which the Russian president "frightened the world with fairy tales" about the new heavy Russian missile system "Sarmat", comparing it to the "Voevoda" missile developed in the Ukrainian SSR (Satan, according to nomenclature).

In his opinion, today missile system"Sarmat" is only a weight and size model that passed the stage of throw tests at the end of 2017. Gorbulin believes that the new Russian missile will be adopted in four to five years. "Russian developers need, among other things, to conduct flight design tests of new missile weapons and test the missile," he said.

The director of the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies said that the Ukrainian SSR had produced 308 Voevoda missiles with a 15-year warranty period. The deliveries of missiles to the armament of the USSR began in 1985, now there are 42 such missiles in Russia.

As Gorbulin noted, in the early 2000s, the Russian leadership twice turned to the Ukrainian side with a request to carry out warranty service and extend the warranty periods of Russian Voevods by Ukrainian enterprises (KB Yuzhnoye and the Yuzhmash plant). Now this function is assigned to the Russian Makeyev Center, he said.

Gorbulin also doubted that Russia would be ready to get rid of Voevod in the near future. “Because there are no better missile systems in the world. This is not my assessment, this is the assessment of the US Missile Defense Agency, ”added the director of the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies.

The newest heavy-class missile "Sarmat" is planned to be put into service in 2019-2020. Work on the project began in 2011, the missile being created will replace the Voevoda complex developed and mass-produced in the Ukrainian SSR. In March 2018, the Deputy Minister of Defense announced that their disposal would begin shortly.

According to the developers, "Sarmat", carrying a payload of about ten tons, has a flight range of about 16 thousand kilometers. The missile is capable of reaching the enemy along a ballistic trajectory passing through the South Pole, as well as moving at an ultra-low altitude.

Alexey Zakvasin

The Russian intercontinental missile There is no RS-28 "Sarmat" and no analogues will appear in the near future. This was stated by the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces), Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev. According to him, by 2025 more than 40 "Sarmats" are to enter service in the Strategic Missile Forces, which will replace the existing arsenal of R-36M. As noted by Karakaev, the missile will be able to hit targets at any distance around the globe and overcome any ABM lines. About the latest Russian development - in the material RT.

• Screenshot from video RUPTLY

The Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, told reporters about some of the capabilities of the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

“It will replace the existing Voevoda rocket. The mass-dimensional characteristics of "Sarmat" will allow it to be placed in the existing silo launchers with minimal modifications to the infrastructure of the positioning areas, "said Karakayev.

According to him, tests of the Sarmat missile, which will surpass its predecessor in many respects, started in December 2017. Until 2025, the Strategic Missile Forces should receive more than 40 RS-28s, which will replace the R-36M.

“The Sarmat missile system does not have and in the near future will not have analogues in the world combat missile industry,” added the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces.

• Launch of ICBM RS-28 "Sarmat"
• Screenshot from Youtube video

Range and power

The Sarmat is a fifth-generation heavy missile aimed at penetrating any missile defense system. According to experts, outwardly the RS-28 will resemble its predecessor. Indirectly, this is evidenced by the same mass (over 200 tons) and a liquid engine.

However, it significantly surpasses the "Voevoda". As Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on March 1, 2018, the range of the newest missile, as well as the number and power of warheads, is greater than that of the R-36M.

“Voevoda has a range of 11 thousand km, the new system has practically no range restrictions. As can be seen from the video footage, he is capable of attacking targets both through the North and South Poles. "Sarmat" is very formidable weapon, due to its characteristics, no, even promising missile defense systems are not a hindrance to him, "Putin said.

From the video that the president showed during his message to the Federal Assembly, it follows that the RS-28 can cover at least 20 thousand km.

The power plant allows the "Sarmat" to start one and a half times faster than the "Voevoda". The duration of the RS-28 booster section is comparable to the RS-12M2 Topol-M and PC-24 Yars light-class solid-propellant ICBMs. The short booster section provides an earlier breeding of warheads, which makes it difficult for missile defense to detect the missile.

Payload "Sarmat" - 3 tons. The rocket is equipped with the most modern means of countering radar stations. According to the military, even promising technical means of a potential enemy will not be able to distinguish false warheads from real ones.

• How the Sarmat rocket is created: video footage from the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant

Wide range of ammunition

In his speech, Putin stressed that the "Sarmat" will be "equipped with a wide range of nuclear weapons," including hypersonic, and the most modern systems overcoming missile defense ”.

Vasily Laga, Chief Researcher of the Strategic Missile Forces Military Academy, explained to reporters that the RS-28 warhead can be equipped with about 20 types of warheads of various power classes (low, medium, high, large).

In addition, the Sarmat design provides for the placement of three gliding winged blocks - the hallmark of the Avangard missile system. These munitions fly in dense layers of the atmosphere located several tens of kilometers from the Earth's surface.

“The unit is flying at hypersonic speed (about Mach 20. - RT) for the intercontinental range. Maneuvering along the course and altitude, it is able to bypass the detection and destruction zones of all modern and promising anti-missile defense systems, ”the Defense Ministry said in a statement following the President's message.

Various types of maneuvering of the winged unit reduce virtually to zero the probability that the enemy will determine the trajectory of its flight.

The appearance also indicates a breakthrough in domestic materials science. The block body is made of composites that can withstand aerodynamic heating of several thousand degrees. According to Putin, at the time of flight, the temperature on the surface of the "Sarmat" reaches 1600-2000 ° C.

The Ministry of Defense is convinced that the transition of the Strategic Missile Forces to the RS-28 will not lead to serious financial costs. First, new infrastructure will not be created for Sarmat. Secondly, the period of operation of ICBMs is two and a half times longer than the warranty period of the Voevoda.

• Launch of the Dnepr conversion carrier rocket based on the R-36M Voevoda ICBM
• globallookpress.com
• Vadim Savitsky / Global Look Press

The RS-28 will significantly strengthen the power of the Strategic Missile Forces, says Vasily Laga. In his opinion, “Sarmat” embodies those unique characteristics that Russian scientific thought has always striven for.

RS-28 "Sarmat" (NATO classification Satan-2) is a Russian promising 5th generation silo-based strategic missile system with a heavy multistage liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile. It was intended to replace the R-36M missile system (SS-18 "Satan").

The concept of the "Sarmat" complex is not just an emphasis on Weight Limit warheads, as in the R-36M, which can be hit by missile defense systems, and delivery, albeit not such a large number of warheads, but along trajectories and methods that significantly complicate their destruction even by promising missile defense systems. The technology of "orbital bombardment", embedded in a rocket with a strike on US territory along a suborbital trajectory through the South Pole of the Earth, bypassing deployed missile defense systems and allows launching civilian spacecraft.

In addition, the "Avangard" (Ju-71) guided warheads allow for the first time to use Soviet and Russian ICBMs in local wars according to the "global strike" strategy, without nuclear explosion with the defeat of strategic targets of opponents with the kinetic energy of the combat unit.

The missile uses the upgraded RD-264 engine, already used by the Soviet-made R-36M2 ICBM.

The serial production of the Sarmat ICBM should enter the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant in 2021; the first regiment equipped with such missiles will be on alert by the same date.

How did it all begin?

By the middle of the 20th century, humanity fell into a "nuclear trap". Compared to other types of weapons, a simple qualitative and quantitative superiority of weapons of mass destruction of any country in the world did not guarantee victory. The very fact of the massive use of nuclear warheads by one of the countries can lead to the death of all mankind. Since the 70s, strategic parity has been a guarantee of peace, however, weapons mass destruction acts as an instrument of political pressure.

Guaranteed response or first strike?

Today the very presence and number of charges plays a secondary role. Now the urgent task is either the possibility of an unpunished attack, or to provide retaliation to the aggressor country. If the deployment of a global American-made missile defense system is designed to fulfill the offensive doctrine, then the development of retaliatory weapons is the main and priority direction of the development of Russia's strategic forces.

To date, the basis of the Strategic Missile Forces are the carriers of the "Voevoda" (they are known as "Satan"). THEM can not be intercepted by any anti-missile systems. These ICBMs were produced in Soviet times in Dnepropetrovsk, which became Ukrainian after the collapse of the USSR.

For all their advantages, the complexes shoot, like any military equipment... Not so long ago, military analysts assumed that their service life continued until 2022, but the current political situation is related to specific issues. Maintenance, dictate a decrease in the time remaining before their testing. But the task of adopting the modern strategic carrier "Sarmat" has become even more urgent. In 2018, the missile is to replace the Voyevods in service in the mines.

The balance of forces

Today, nuclear weapons in service with all countries are distributed in the following way: approximately 45% of such military stocks are in the Russian Federation and the United States. The number of charges is known and according to the START-3 treaty is approximately 1550 pieces. land and sea-based plus 700 pcs. on aircraft.

In terms of the number of carriers, the picture is slightly different. Russia has 528 of them, and America has 794. But this does not mean the advantages of a potential adversary, it is just that the United States has a large number of monoblock systems.

90% of all atomic (neutron, hydrogen) charges are in service with the American and Russian armies. The remaining 10% belong to China, Britain, France and other countries of the "nuclear cube". It is difficult to say which side the states will choose in a global conflict. It is possible that many of them (who are not NATO members) will choose neutrality.

New "Satan"

By the end of the second decade of the 21st century, the "Sarmat" ballistic missile will replace the "Voevoda" - "Satan", which performs the task of guarantor of retaliation. In accordance with the times, the number of RS-20Vs exceeded 3 hundred, now there are 52 of them. All of them have 10 warheads, a total of 520 warheads (750 kilotons of TNT equivalent each) - this is almost a third of the total maritime and ground strategic defense potential.

The Voevoda's weight is more than 200 tons. The nuclear potential of the Russian Federation is being updated, in 2015 the Strategic Missile Forces will receive 500 new sets of other types, but they will have to perform other tasks. As a rule, these are mobile units that are on duty in operational areas.

"Satan" is terrifying 2 for its important capabilities: tremendous destructive power and the ability to quickly pass the ABM line. Each such carrier can turn an entire metropolis with its surroundings and an industrial area into a jet desert. It is assumed that the Sarmat missile will replace the world's most powerful carrier at about the time it reaches the age of 30, which is very honorable for an ICBM.

The main difference between the new rocket

All design, development work and the manufacture of new weapons were entrusted to the state center. Makeev, which is located in the city of Miass ( Chelyabinsk region). The designers are not limited to the modernization of "Satan", despite the fact that it has shown itself well, and immediately decided to choose the difficult path of the pioneers. The main task was to create a lighter and more compact sample. Thus, the "Sarmat" was conceived - a missile, the performance of which was to significantly exceed the characteristics of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces that were previously in service. The main indicator of any ballistic projectile is its power-to-weight ratio, that is, the ratio of weight to the force that sets it in motion. A significant breakthrough was planned in this area. "Satan" is a heavy 210-ton missile, while the mass of "Sarmat" is half that.

Liquid fuel

Most of the rocket's weight comes from the fuel in the stages. All strategic delivery vehicles fall into 3 main categories:

• Heavy up to 200 tons in weight (on this moment there are no big ones yet).
• Medium - from 51 to 100 tons.
• Lightweight, weighing up to 50 tons.

Such a gradation is also explained by the flight range: the more fuel there is, the correspondingly longer the range will be. For example, American "Minutemans" weigh 35 tons and are classified as light. Relatively not heavy weight- this is a huge advantage, because such missiles require less voluminous mines, they are easier to hide and transport. But at the same time, almost all of them are solid fuel. And this gives a huge number of advantages: the shelf life is increased, highly toxic components are not used, and maintenance is cheaper. But the problem is that the energy saturation of solid fuels will be lower compared to liquid ones. Therefore, "Sarmat" is a liquid propellant rocket. So far nothing is known about the power plant, except that its power-to-weight ratio is unmatched.

Testing

Making a new technical sample always involves a serious risk, but if successful, it is fully justified.

Work on this project began in 2009. KB, after 2 years of research, has finally started testing.

In the early autumn of 2011, the vicinity of the Kapustin YAR cosmodrome suffered from powerful explosion... The Sarmat rocket, on which serious hopes were pinned, crashed to the ground a few minutes after the launch. All further launches, unfortunately, were also unsuccessful.

Only a year later, there was a successful launch. This time, the experts took into account the basic indicators of ballistics. Tests have shown that the Sarmat liquid-propellant missile is capable of covering more than 11,000 km, while carrying a fighting compartment weighing 4350 kg. In the spring of 2014, Yuri Borisov (Deputy Defense Minister) announced that all work on the development of a new strategic complex is proceeding smoothly, according to a clearly planned schedule. He believes that the new Sarmat missile will not have restrictions in the direction combat use, will be able to hit targets along trajectories that pass through both poles of the planets. This is critical because secure NATO systems are not designed for this versatility.

Warhead

"Sarmat" has unique energy and mass characteristics. The launch vehicle is, of course, an important design element, but the warhead, which contains 10 individual guidance units, is equally significant. And he, apparently, is also unique. This is because each of the warheads has 2 qualities different types weapons: hypersonic and cruise missile... Both types of weapons so far have had a delineated range of tasks. Until now, RKs with a flat trajectory have not flown so fast.

Winged hypersonic units

The characteristics of the warheads appear to be controversial. This is because the usual type of cruise missile sneaks up on the enemy at a relatively low speed. Taking into account the terrain, hiding behind its irregularities, it is forced to be slow-moving, so that the electronic "brain" could have time to assess obstacles, as well as develop solutions for flying around them. For example, the American Tomahawk cruise missile flies at the speed of a passenger liner (less than 900 km per hour).

In addition, a cruise missile has a mass (like any other aircraft), which means that both the inertia and the control actions of the air rudders must be proactive. Thus, the Sarmat ICBM units are also operating. The missile, the performance of which is as close to hypersonic as possible, after separation begins to maintain a flat trajectory, which makes it impossible to intercept.

Unpredictability

All the advantages of the unique personal control of the warheads of the divided warhead are surrounded by useless if the enemy can destroy the ICBM before it enters the combat course. The Sarmat rocket flies quickly, however, its trajectory at any moment can deviate from the usual predictable arc - a parabola. Additional maneuvering engines change direction, altitude, speed, and then the onboard digital computer determines new flight indicators for reaching the target. Such unpredictability is inherent in other types of modern domestic media as well. nuclear charges... As a result, it became their "calling card" or an asymmetric response to the attempts of a potential enemy to ensure their own invulnerability, which would allow them to strike the first blow.

Invulnerability on the ground

For an aggressor planning to launch a massive nuclear strike with impunity, the most important task is to deprive the enemy of the opportunity to respond to this strike at the initial stage of the outbreak of a military conflict. This means that launchers, ground and aircraft carriers must be destroyed (neutralized) by the first salvo. But this is unlikely. The mines where the Sarmat missiles are located are distinguished by multilevel protection, both passive (high reliability of fortifications) and active (in the form of air defense and anti-missile systems). For 100% destruction of an underground launcher, you will need to inflict at least 7 accurate nuclear strikes on the operational area of ​​deployment, covered by missile defense systems. In addition, the location has not yet been declassified. And the Sarmat missile itself is a state secret. Only information that is intended for military analysts and the media is released.

Device and performance characteristics

The Sarmat rocket uses an engine that was created on the basis of the reliable NPO Energomash RD-264 engine. According to Colonel-General S. Karakaev, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, the missile uses a silo-based system and may be in ready-made silo launchers. The complex carries out a mortar launch, the powder accumulator pressure, as a result of which it throws a rocket out of the mine at an altitude of 20-30 m, after which it automatically activates the rocket engine.

According to the first sketches of the rocket, most experts considered it to be two-stage. After posting an official photo of the rocket, some sources suggested that the rocket could be three-stage, like the classic launch vehicles that take satellites into orbit.

Liquid-propellant rocket motors of the stages were “recessed” into the fuel tank, while the fuel tanks were load-bearing ones with combined dividing bottoms. The rocket will use reliable and proven engines from the R-36M, such as the RD-264 in their improved modification RS-99, the testing of which has been effectively completed.

Expert of the Command Military Institute of the PRC Missile Forces Chu Fuhai, believes that two modifications of missiles with different fuel reserves will be created to destroy targets in Western Europe and the USA. The initial weight of a rocket with a target in the United States is 150-200 tons, the flight range is 16,000 km, the payload is 5 tons. The range of a rocket aimed at Western European countries is 9,000 - 10,000 km, the launch weight is 100 - 120 tons, the maximum throw weight - 10 tons.

One missile, according to experts, carries from 10 to 15 warheads (it all depends on their power). Upon delivery of 10 warheads, their yield is 750 Kt each. Also, some experts believe that conventional warheads are used, if maneuvering hypersonic warheads Yu-71 are used, then there will be three of them, and each will weigh about 1 ton.

The Sarmat missile is not the first missile to have such different range and load indicators in different versions, since such indicators are related. The R-36 and R-36 orbs, made practically according to the same technology, with a single weight of 180 tons, have ranges, depending on the mass of the loaded warheads, of 10,000 km, 15,000 km, and the variant of "orbital bombardment".

In addition, it should be borne in mind that, in addition to warheads, according to the designers, a significant weight limit will be set aside for traditional missile defense systems, such as decoys. In the event that classical decoys such as inflatable warhead simulators, corner, springy and additional reflectors have a lot of weight, then when entering the atmosphere, simulated warheads are quasi-heavy decoys, and although they are lighter than warheads, their weight is still quite significant , since they represent a rocket with thermal protection, a plasma generator, an after-acceleration engine and an electronic warfare module for glowing, imitating the trajectory and EPR of the warhead.

The device and the tactical and technical characteristics of the warhead

According to Izvestia, this warhead can have the following tactical and technical characteristics:

• maximum flight speed in the atmosphere - 15M (with an average speed indicator - in the interval - 5-7 kilometers per second);
• the product operates at an altitude of about 100 km (this is the upper limit of the planet Earth's atmosphere);
• the warhead maneuvers in the atmosphere while descending to overcome the missile defense.

Mysterious "Sarmat"

Everything related to the development of this complex is covered in mystery. This is exactly the case when not all taxpayers will be able to find out in the near future what their paid funds are spent on. Only the news media's meager promises of successful launches and safety overhead are proof that public money was not wasted.

At present, too little is known about "Sarmat". Apparently, this class of nuclear weapons carriers will play the role of the country's main shield, together with air, sea and mobile-based systems. Published only some scattered data on what the Sarmat missile is. Tactical and technical characteristics only approximate are also given: the range is 11 thousand kilometers, but at the same time it is possible to defeat the targets of a potential enemy through the Southern Polis.

"We are missile troops, any goal is close to us!" - chanted the strategic missilemen back in Soviet times... And there was no particular exaggeration in these verses: the missiles really flew over a long distance and possessed enormous destructive power, especially with nuclear warheads. You cannot erase the words from the song, even after a lapse of time. Soon, writes weekly "Zvezda", in service with Russian Rocket Troops strategic purpose, a new missile system "Sarmat" will appear, capable of raising and launching warheads, developing a speed of more than 11 thousand kilometers per hour. No other rocket in the world has such a speed yet. Deadly "filling" The completion of tests of a new missile system with a heavy intercontinental ballistic missile "Sarmat" was publicly announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his message to the Federal Assembly on March 1 this year. And already at a recent reception in the Kremlin in honor of graduates of military universities, the President, mentioning the Avangard intercontinental-range missiles, which are already starting to enter service, assured that the Sarmat is on its way next year. This missile system will replace the formidable "Voevoda", nicknamed in the West "Satan" (according to NATO classification - SS-18 Mod. 1.2.3 Satan). Here again it is appropriate to recall the words from the song: "How the rocket works - you don't need to know about it , and how that rocket is controlled. This business is familiar to us, this business is perfectly well known to those who are supposed to be in the service. " From the known for today: RS-28 "Sarmat" is a Russian promising ground-based silo-based missile system with a heavy liquid ICBM capable of carrying nuclear charges. It has been developed since the 2000s by specialists of JSC "State Missile Center named after V. P. Makeev" in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region. Named after the Sarmatians, whose nomadic tribes in the VI-IV centuries BC inhabited the territory modern Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The missile itself is a "blank", a carrier of ammunition, capable of having a short active flight segment in the weight of 200 tons, which makes it difficult to intercept it by means of antimissile defense. It can be thrown both through the North and South Poles for an unlimited range. But the main surprise is its deadly "stuffing". We are talking about hypersonic warheads, known under the code Ju-71. At a maximum altitude, the Yu-71 reaches a speed of 15 Max (this is the same 11-12 thousand kilometers per hour). In this case, the warhead flies along a very complex trajectory, which, according to the laws of physics, should reduce the speed of the object. According to the presumable data of experts, U-71, raised to an altitude of 100 kilometers, then flies at a speed of five to seven kilometers per second. Detailed information on the progress of work related to hypersonic weapons is classified. They do not even risk calling the "Product 4202" a rocket - it is lightning from heaven, which is almost impossible to stop. Formidable weapon The head of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev, who threatened to "show America Kuzkin's mother," was referring to the AN602 thermonuclear aviation bomb (aka "Tsar Bomba"), the most powerful ammunition in the world at that time. Received from the "light hand" of Nikita Sergeevich the name "Kuzkina Mother", the bomb, or rather its model, is kept in the museum of nuclear weapons in the city of Sarov, where the Russian Federal Nuclear Center (RFNC VNIIEF) is located. you could have scared the United States. But if we compare it with the Sarmat missile, the length of which exceeds 30 meters, and the weight is over 200 tons (not every museum will fit), and the combat compartment with warheads is capable of lifting more than 10 tons of “cargo” to a given height, then Kuz'kina Mother "Looks like just a child against her background. Russian President Vladimir Putin said about its capabilities without excessive pathos:" Sarmat is a very formidable weapon. Due to its characteristics, no, even promising missile defense systems will not hinder him. "
Completely Russian development There is also another detail that is not cast in metal, but in politics. Until 1991, the designer and manufacturer of heavy liquid-propellant ICBMs of the R-36 family was the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (OKB-586) in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. For well-known reasons, all contacts in the defense industry with this country have been terminated today, and, naturally, there is no talk of any deliveries, even components. Until recently, the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Strategic Missile Forces was carried out by the Moscow Institute of Heating on solid-propellant ICBMs. Therefore, the creation of a new heavy liquid-propellant rocket was entrusted to the "GRTs Makeev" (SKB-385) in Miass, which deals, among other things, with ballistic missiles for submarines. many specialized enterprises of the military-industrial complex of our country. For example, the NPO Energomash named after academician V.P. Glushko from the Moscow Region Khimki became the developer of engines for the Sarmat (the engine from the Voevoda rocket was taken as the basis for the development). Their production is carried out at PJSC "Proton-PM" in Perm. The Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant (part of the Makeev GRTs Holding) became the parent enterprise for the production of Sarmat ICBMs.
Everywhere will come in handy From where the test launches of the new rocket are carried out is not known for certain. From open sources, one can glean information that the Sarmatians, ready to enter service by the end of 2018, will be replaced on alert by the "Voevoda." One thing is clear: wherever the "Sarmatians" are on alert duty, they will come in handy everywhere to guarantee the security of our country.

By the middle of the twentieth century, humanity fell into the "nuclear trap". Unlike all other types of weapons, a simple quantitative and even qualitative superiority of weapons of mass destruction of either side did not guarantee victory. The very fact of the massive use of nuclear warheads by one of the countries could lead to the death of almost all of humanity. Since the seventies, strategic parity has served as a guarantee of peace, but remains an instrument of political pressure.

First strike or guaranteed response?

The very presence and number of charges in modern period already plays a secondary role. The actual task now consists either in the ability to attack with impunity, or to provide guaranteed retaliation for the aggressor. If the deployment of the American global missile defense system is designed to implement an offensive doctrine, then the creation of a retaliatory strike weapon is a priority direction in the development of Russian strategic forces. Currently, the basis of the Strategic Missile Forces is the carriers of the "Voevoda" (aka "Satan"), which no anti-missile systems are able to intercept. These ICBMs were produced in the then Soviet city of Dnepropetrovsk, which became Ukrainian after the collapse of the USSR.

Complexes, with all their advantages, are aging, like any technique. Until recently, it was assumed that their service life would last until 2022, but the political realities associated with very specific maintenance issues dictate a decrease in the time remaining before their cancellation. The more urgent is the task of adopting the new strategic carrier "Sarmat". In 2018, the missile is supposed to replace the Voevoda who are on alert in the mines.

The balance of forces

At present nuclear weapons of all countries are distributed as follows: approximately 45% of all special ammunition falls on the United States and The Russian Federation... The number of charges is known and, according to the START-3 treaty, is approximately 1550 pieces of sea and ground-based plus 700 for aircraft.

In terms of the number of carriers, the picture is somewhat different. The Americans have more of them (794 versus 528 Russian). This does not mean any advantages of a potential adversary, but indicates that the United States has more monoblock systems.

So, 90% of all atomic (hydrogen, neutron) charges are in service with the Russian and American armies... The remaining 10% belong to Britain, China, France and other countries of the "nuclear club". It is difficult to assess which state will take whose side in the event of a global conflict. It is possible that many of them (not NATO members) will prefer neutrality.

New "Satan"?

The ballistic missile "Sarmat" by the end of the second decade of the XXI century will replace the "Voevoda" - "Satan", performing the task of guarantor of retaliation. In Soviet times, the number of RS-20Vs exceeded three hundred, now there are 52 of them. Each of them has ten warheads, for a total of 520 warheads (750 kilotons of TNT equivalent) - this is almost a third of the total land and sea strategic defense potential. The Voevoda's weight is more than two hundred tons. is being updated, in 2015 the Strategic Missile Forces will receive fifty new complexes of other types, but they will have to perform other tasks. These are mainly mobile units on duty in operational areas.

"Satan" is terrifying in two of its important capabilities: the ability to pass missile defense lines and a huge destructive force. Each such carrier is able to turn an entire industrial region or a metropolis with its surroundings into a radioactive desert. The heavy Sarmat missile is to replace the world's most powerful launch vehicle at about the time it reaches the age of thirty, venerable for ICBMs.

The main difference between the new rocket

Design, development and construction of new weapons were entrusted to the Makeyev State Missile Center, located in the city of Miass (Chelyabinsk Region). The designers did not limit themselves to the modernization of the already well-proven "Satan" and immediately chose the thorny path of the pioneers for themselves. The challenge was to create a more compact and lighter sample. This is exactly how the Sarmat was conceived - a missile whose characteristics were supposed to exceed the parameters of all our Strategic Missile Forces that were previously in service with us. The main parameter of any ballistic projectile is the power-to-weight ratio, that is, the ratio of mass to the force that sets it in motion. It was in this area that a breakthrough was planned. The 210-ton Satan is a heavy rocket. "Sarmat" weighs half as much.

Liquid fuel

Most of the mass of the rocket is the fuel in the stages. All strategic carriers are conventionally divided into three main categories:

• lightweight, weighing up to 50 tons;
• medium, weighing from 51 to 100 tons;
• heavy, up to 200 tons in weight, there are no large ones yet.

This gradation also determined the flight range: the more fuel, the longer the range. For example, American "Minutemans" have a mass of 35 tons and are classified as light. Low weight is a big advantage, such missiles require less volumetric silos, they are easier to transport and hide. But almost all of them are solid fuel. And this gives a lot of advantages: the shelf life is significantly increased, highly toxic components are not used, and maintenance is cheaper. But the trouble is that the energy saturation of solid fuel is lower than that of liquid fuel. So, "Sarmat" is a rocket with liquid fuel. Nothing more is known about the power plant, except that its power-to-weight ratio has no equal in the world.

Testing

The construction of a new technical model is always associated with risk, but it is justified by the high effect in case of success.

Work on the project began in 2009. After two years of research, the design bureau began testing.

In early autumn 2011, the vicinity of the Kapustin Yar cosmodrome shuddered from a powerful explosion. The Sarmat, the rocket on which great hopes were pinned, crashed to the ground a few minutes after the launch. Subsequent launches were also unsuccessful.

Only a year later, the launch was crowned with success. The basic parameters of ballistics have been refined. Tests have shown that the Sarmat liquid-propellant missile can cover more than 11 thousand km, while carrying a combat compartment weighing 4350 kg. In May 2014, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov announced that all work on the creation of a new strategic complex was going on as planned, without lagging behind schedule. According to him, the new Sarmat missile has no restrictions in the direction combat use, will be able to hit targets along trajectories passing through both poles of the planet. And this is very important, since NATO defense systems are not designed for such versatility.

Warhead

The unique energy and mass indicators do not exhaust the advantages that "Sarmat" possesses. A launch vehicle is, of course, a very important structural element, but no less significant is a warhead containing ten individual guidance units. And he, apparently, is also unique. The fact is that each of the warheads combines the qualities of two different types of weapons: it behaves both as a cruise missile and as a hypersonic missile. Each of these species has so far had a clearly delineated range of tasks. Until now, cruise missiles with a flat trajectory did not fly very quickly.

Winged hypersonic units

The properties of the warheads look contradictory. The fact is that a conventional cruise missile sneaks up on a target at a relatively low speed. Using the terrain, hiding behind its irregularities, it is forced to be slow-moving so that the electronic "brain" has time to assess obstacles and develop solutions for flying around them. For example, the American Tomahawk cruise missile moves at the speed of an ordinary passenger liner (less than 900 km / h).

In addition, a cruise missile, like any other aircraft, has mass, which means that both inertia and the control actions of air rudders must be proactive. This is how the Sarmat ICBM units operate. The missile, whose characteristics are close to hypersonic, after separation maintains a flat trajectory, which makes it impossible to intercept.

Unpredictability

All the advantages of the unique system of individual control of the warheads of the divided warhead will be useless if the enemy can destroy the ICBM before it enters the combat course. The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile flies quickly, but its trajectory can at any time go off the usual predictable arc - a parabola. Additional maneuvering engines change altitude, direction, speed, and then the onboard digital computer determines new flight parameters for reaching the target. Such unpredictability is typical for other types of modern Russian carriers of nuclear charges; it has become their "calling card", an asymmetric response to the attempts of Western "friends" to ensure their own invulnerability and, as a consequence, the right to first strike.

Invulnerability on the ground

The most desirable situation for an aggressor planning to launch a massive nuclear strike with impunity is one in which the enemy is deprived of the opportunity to respond already in the initial phase of the war. This means that launchers, submarines, aircraft and ground carriers must be neutralized (destroyed) by the first salvo. However, such a desire has a very small likelihood of being realized for many years. The mines, in which the Sarmatians are supposed to be located, have a multilevel degree of protection, both active (in the form of anti-missile systems and air defense) and passive (a high level of security for fortifications). For guaranteed destruction of an underground launcher, it is required to inflict at least seven nuclear strikes with high accuracy on the operational deployment area covered by effective missile defense systems. In addition, the locations are kept secret. The Sarmat missile itself is also a state secret, photos of which are practically not published, with the exception of not very clear footage taken during test launches. Only information intended for the media and military analysts is published.

Mysterious "Sarmat"

A veil of mystery covers everything related to the creation of this complex. This is just the case when not every taxpayer will be able to find out in the near future what the funds allocated to them are spent on. Only scant news reports of successful launches and clear skies overhead are proof that public money is not being wasted.

In fact, very little is known about "Sarmat" at present. It is this class of carriers that, apparently, will play the role of the country's main shield when interacting with mobile, sea and air-based systems. Published only some scattered information about what the Sarmat missile is. The performance characteristics are also approximate: the range exceeds 11 thousand km, but it is possible to destroy targets through the South Pole.