Shoigu: the Strategic Missile Forces have a high readiness to fulfill the tasks facing the troopsMOSCOW, Dec 17 – RIA Novosti.
Professionalism, dedication and loyalty to the duty of the personnel ensures the high readiness of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) to fulfill the tasks facing the troops, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a congratulatory message to the rocket men on the occasion of the RVSN Day.
RVSN Day is celebrated annually on December 17. On this day in 1959, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the post of commander-in-chief of the missile forces was established, the headquarters of the Strategic Missile Forces and other military management bodies were formed. Currently, the Strategic Missile Forces carry out the tasks of strategic nuclear deterrence.
"Thanks to the professionalism of the personnel, their dedication, loyalty to their official duty, the high readiness of the Strategic Missile Forces to fulfill their responsible tasks has been ensured today," Shoigu said in congratulating the servicemen of the Strategic Missile Forces on the day of troops.
The rocket scientists were also congratulated by the Russian crew of the International Space Station. Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina sent a video greeting. On the eve of the memorial day, the commander of the troops, Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, spoke about the results of the activities of the Strategic Missile Forces during the year and plans and tasks for 2023.
According to him, the Strategic Missile Forces, as a component of the Strategic Nuclear Forces, account for about 60% of strategic deterrence tasks, and therefore the rearmament of troops with new missile systems will remain one of the priorities of the Strategic Missile Forces in the new year.
Rearmament
In particular, in 2023, it is planned to complete the re-equipment of the RVSN mobile group for this complex by putting on combat duty the next missile regiment with the Yars mobile ground missile system in the Bologovskaya Division in the Tver Region.
The rearmament of the mobile "Yars" began with the Teikovo missile compound in the Ivanovo region in 2009. Currently, the Teikovskaya, Yoshkar-Ola, Nizhny Tagil, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Barnaul missile divisions have been re-equipped with mobile-based Yars complexes.
The latest Avangard missile system with a hypersonic maneuvering combat unit continues to be put on combat duty – the second regiment with the Avangard will take up combat duty on Saturday in the Yasnensky connection of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In addition, with the re-equipment of the Strategic Missile Forces with modern missile systems, the troops receive an improved automated combat control system with a modular principle of equipment construction and fiber-optic data transmission systems. As the commander explained, the new systems and means of communication provide high noise immunity for delivering orders.
Taking into account the implementation of plans for putting on combat duty, the share of modern weapons by the end of 2022 is more than 85%. In the summer of 2022, Karakayev said that the share of modern weapons in the Strategic Missile Forces is 83%, and by the end of the year it will be brought to 86%.
Next year, the development of a new mobile missile system with increased mobility compared to the Yars mobile ground-based missile system will also begin. This will make it possible to quickly relocate the complex and conduct launches from any areas throughout Russia.
"Sarmat"
In April of this year, a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of stationary basing "Sarmat" was successfully launched from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region from a mine launcher. In total, in 2023, the Strategic Missile Forces will conduct eight launches of various ICBMs, both from the Plesetsk cosmodrome and from the 4th State Central Interspecific Test Site Kapustin Yar.
The Sarmat will replace the RS-20V Voevoda heavy strategic mine-based missile. The first to receive the new complex should be the rocket men of the Uzhur rocket compound, since it has an important strategic position and has the necessary infrastructure for basing heavy liquid-fuel missiles. To accommodate the Sarmat, the infrastructure from the Voivode is used, which significantly reduces the time and cost of deploying a new complex.
The commander of the Strategic Missile Forces clarified that Sarmat is capable of using a wide range of types of combat equipment, which are based on technical principles that make it possible to overcome any missile defense system now and for decades to come.
In November, Vladimir Degtyar, General Director and General Designer of the Makeev State Rocket Center (SRC), reported that the Sarmat had already been put into serial production. According to Karakayev, the technical solutions embedded in the complex allow it to be operated for 25 years with a guarantee, and also ensure the production of missiles based exclusively on Russian industry in Russia.
Karakayev noted that, in general, the current production rates of missile systems fully meet the needs of the Strategic Missile Forces, while the available technological capacities allow, if necessary, to increase production.
