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A strategic next-generation missile that Russian President Vladimir Putin once described as “invincible” has been deployed for combat duty, the head of state space agency Roscosmos said Friday. bulletin news
The Kremlin had previously stated that the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would be ready for combat duty by the end of 2022, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
But the deadline passed, and in June, Putin said that the new missile system would be deployed for combat duty “soon,” without naming a specific date.
Roscosmos general director Yuri Borisov said Friday that “the Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty,” as quoted by RIA Novosti.
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In April 2022, Moscow said it had successfully tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying nuclear charges.
Putin, who has made veiled nuclear threats to Kyiv’s Western allies throughout the war in Ukraine, claimed at the time that the weapon would make Russia’s enemies “think twice.”
Russia tested one of its Sarmat warheads during a visit to Ukraine by U.S. President Joe Biden in February 2023, but the test was apparently unsuccessful.
The RS-28 Sarmat — dubbed Satan 2 by Western analysts — is among Russia’s next-generation missiles unveiled by Putin in 2018 which also include the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles.
Weighing in at more than 200 tons and able to transport multiple warheads, Sarmat is designed to elude anti-missile defense systems with a short initial boost phase, giving enemy surveillance systems a narrow window to track it down.
AFP contributed reporting.
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Russia Conducts Test Launch of ‘Advanced’ ICBM
Russia has conducted what it said was the successful test launch of an “advanced” intercontinental ballistic missile, weeks after it suspended participation in its last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that a “combat crew successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of a mobile ground-based missile system” from its Kapustin Yar test site on Tuesday.
“The missile’s training warhead hit a mock target at the Sary-Shagan training ground (Republic of Kazakhstan) with given precision,” it added.
Since sending troops into Ukraine last year, President Vladimir Putin has issued thinly veiled warnings that he could use nuclear weapons there if Russia were threatened.
In late February, Putin said Moscow was suspending participation in the New START treaty, under which Russia and the United States had agreed to limit nuclear stockpiles and submit to mutual inspections.
And less than three weeks ago, Putin said he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbour and ally Belarus, bringing the arms to the doorstep of the European Union.
Both moves drew condemnation from NATO.
While the Russian defence ministry did not specify the type of missile used in Tuesday’s launch, it said the exercise’s purpose “was to test advanced combat equipment of intercontinental ballistic missiles”.
“This launch made it possible to confirm the correctness of the circuit design and technical solutions used in the development of new strategic missile systems,” it added.
In February, Putin said a new kind of ICBM would be deployed sometime this year, following US reports that the weapon had failed a recent test.
The Sarmat — dubbed “Satan 2” by Western analysts — is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and is among Russia’s next-generation missiles that Putin has described as “invincible”.
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