Avangard Rocket
The Avangard hypersonic missile created in Russia is in fact a complex, the key feature of which is a guided combat unit delivered to the target by an intercontinental ballistic missile. The speed of the block reaches 9.5 km/sec, which provides it with kinetic energy corresponding to 18 tons in TNT equivalent, excluding the power of the warhead.
The history of the appearance
For the first time, President Putin announced the existence of a block named Avangard in 2018 in his message to the Federal Assembly, and a little later, the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, Karakaev, said that this weapon would be a very effective response to the expansion of the American missile defense system and clarified that the Avangard had successfully passed tests. According to unofficial information, the first tests of the complex, which, according to rumors, were considered unsuccessful, were actively conducted in 2013 and 2015 at the Baikonur cosmodrome and the Dombarovsky positional site in the Orenburg region. Then the carrier was the UR-100N UTTH rocket, for which the mine launchers were upgraded.
Avangard Rocket
It is also known that the experimental launch system for the promising Avangard was handled by specialists from the St. Petersburg Design Bureau of Special Engineering, and engineers from the Motor design Bureau, which is part of the CENKI structure, were engaged in transport and technological equipment. According to some reports, the first successful launch of a rocket with the Avangard block took place in December 2018. It launched from the Dombarovsky district and promptly hit the specified target at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka, covering a distance of about 6,000 kilometers. Then it was officially announced that the required tests had been completed in full, and the complex was ready to be put into service with the Strategic Missile Forces. To date, according to open data, Russia has already put the first Vanguards on duty in combat mode as part of two regiments of the 13th missile division. As part of the first phase of the complex's deployment, two more regiments of 6 ICBMs each with a mine base will be prepared by the end of 2025.
Avangard Rocket
Technical specifications
The exact technical parameters of the Avangard are kept secret for obvious reasons, but it is known that this combat unit with an intercontinental range is capable of speeds in excess of Mach 20, and according to other sources — Mach 27 or about 32,000 km/h. At the same time, its flight takes place with the so-called "deep maneuvering" in altitude and course, which implies its protection from any existing air defense and missile defense systems. The strategic Avangard missile differs fundamentally from other units of a similar plan that fly to targets with a ballistic trajectory in that it moves in dense layers of the atmosphere at altitudes of several tens of kilometers. At the same time, the power of its warhead can range from 800 kilotons to 2 megatons. Thanks to its special design and advanced composite materials, Avangard can withstand surface heating up to 1600℃, and in particularly critical areas — up to 2000℃. At the same time, it stably retains its characteristics in terms of aerodynamics and is correctly controlled during the entire flight.
Avangard Rocket
Currently, the standard carriers of the hypersonic Avangards are the time-tested UR-100N UTTH missile, but in the future it is planned to replace it with the latest Sarmat-type ICBMs.
Opinions of the "partners"
It should be noted that abroad the capabilities of the Vanguard were very seriously assessed — for example, General of the American Armed Forces Terrence O'Shaughnessy announced that the new complex, which entered service with the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, could easily bypass the existing US anti-missile "shield" and within 15 minutes after launch, deliver an accurate strike anywhere in the country. O'Shaughnessy's words were supplemented by American military expert on science and technology Paul Freistler, who said that Avangard is now the only strategic hypersonic complex in the world, and Russia has become the only country where such a solution is in service.
Avangard Rocket
In turn, in Japan, speaking about the Russian "Vanguard", they call it a real headache for the US military department and added that it is almost impossible to destroy such combat units, and the current American missile defense system is not able to fight them.
Max Antonov