According to sources in the military-industrial complex, state tests of the missile are scheduled for 2022, with the first regiment being put on combat duty at the end of the year
MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Three launches of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as part of flight design tests (LKI) will be carried out in 2021. This was reported to TASS by sources in the military-industrial complex and close to the military department.
"Three launches of the Sarmat ICBM as part of flight design tests will be completed in 2021," one of them said.
"The first launch of the Sarmat ICBM within the framework of flight design tests will be performed approximately in the third quarter of this year on the combat field at the Kura test site in Kamchatka," another said.
According to sources, all three launches will be carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome silo launcher, one of them possibly at the maximum range. The sources noted that the state tests of the Sarmat are scheduled for 2022, with the first regiment being put on combat duty at the end of the year. "The Defense Ministry is already purchasing serial missiles,"one of them said.
According to experts, the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM will be able to deliver a separable warhead weighing up to 10 tons to any point in the world, both through the North and South Poles. The rocket is also planned to be used as a carrier for the Avangard hypersonic blocks developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya. Previously, it was supposed to start LKI "Sarmat" in 2018.
Military experts believe that the presence of the Sarmat ICBM group in Russia will deter US plans to deploy a global missile defense system. This is due, in particular, to the ability of the Sarmat to deliver warheads and strike from various directions, including the transit of nuclear warheads through the South Pole. In addition, heavy stationary ICBMs will allow solving new, non-traditional tasks for the strategic Missile Forces. This, in particular, is a counteraction to the concept of a global instant strike announced in the United States by conventional means. It is believed that heavy ICBMs, when equipped with high-precision combat units in conventional equipment, will be the most effective response to the implementation of the Pentagon program.
