Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Militaryrussia portal, talks about the new Sarmat missile and its combat capabilities
Today, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Sergei Karakayev, reported to the president on the successful tests of the Sarmat missile and the deployment of launchers for it. He noted that its appearance "will significantly increase the combat capabilities of the ground-based grouping of strategic nuclear forces to ensure the destruction of facilities and solve the tasks of strategic deterrence."
Karakayev also said that in terms of its capabilities, the Sarmat surpasses its predecessor, the Voyevoda missile, which was developed back in Soviet times.
The new product has the best characteristics, primarily in terms of flight range, weight, and launch readiness. The complex of countermeasures used makes it possible to reliably overcome existing and promising anti-missile defense (ABM) systems, the Strategic Missile Forces commander explained.
Let's see what kind of weapons our army has received. The Sarmat is a heavy liquid—fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. Now we can say that the project to create it has been completed successfully. This is a great achievement of the main developer, the Makeev State Rocket Center in the city of Miass. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that it was created jointly with NPO Mashinostroenie and other enterprises that cooperate with the Miass defense industry.
There is every reason to say that our Armed Forces have received a missile that has no equal in the world today. With a take-off weight of about 208 tons, it can throw at least 10 tons at a range of up to 18 thousand km.
The mass being thrown in this case is the means of overcoming missile defense, combat equipment and the stage of separation of warheads, which have their own control systems.
The rocket can fly to the target not along the shortest trajectory — for example, not through the North Pole, but through the South Pole. It is in this area that the likely enemy, the United States, does not have missile defense systems deployed.
It is also important that the Sarmat received modern hypersonic guided warheads — their exact number is unknown, but it is highly likely that there will be at least 10 of them.
They will enter the target at hypersonic speed, and it will be almost impossible or extremely difficult to shoot them down even for the most modern missile defense system. The exact power figures of the warheads were not given, but they are about 700 kilotons each.
The rocket received such capabilities due to the fact that its developers have implemented several breakthrough technological solutions.
The rocket body is made with "waffle" milling of block surfaces, both inside and outside. On the Voivode, such a surface was only inside. Its appearance on the outer surface of the rocket is an opportunity to save several hundred kilograms on the structure while maintaining strength.
Another gain in weight is presumably provided by the engines embedded in the fuel tanks on the flight stages. Such an arrangement has always been a distinctive feature of the developments of the Makeev State Research and Development Center. In particular, it was received by the Sineva rocket, the most effective intercontinental missile for submarines by weight.
Sarmat also received more powerful engines than its predecessor. Most likely, their creation took into account the experience of creating the Voivode, as well as our latest space rockets.
Modern computers and electronics, which are small when compared with their counterparts in the 1980s, have helped make the instrument compartment as compact as possible.
Today's launch is one of the fundamental milestones in the completion of the Sarmat flight tests. Then, perhaps, 1-2 more test runs will follow. Then the Sarmat will be put into service and put on combat duty. I repeat, no one in the world has such a class of missiles. They guarantee an inescapable retaliatory strike on the territory of any aggressor state.
The author is a military expert, editor of the Militaryrussia portal
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion.
