Russia said Wednesday it had launched its Sarmat ICBM, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal that President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow’s enemies pause for thought. Putin was shown on TV as the military said the missile was launched from Plesetsk in the northwest of the country and struck targets in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East. “The new complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is able to surpass all modern means of missile defense. He has no analogues in the world and will not have any for a long time,” said Putin.
Launched today from the Pleseck Cosmodrome, the new ICBM crashed into the Kura impact area in Kamchatka, having traveled a distance of more than 5,450 kilometers, which is enough to hit any target in western Europe when launched west from the same launch point moves. However, the maximum range of the Sarmat, a military source told TASS last year, is 18,000 kilometers, almost half the circumference of the equator. The Sarmats are destined to replace the R36M2 Voevoda, which has been in service for fifty years, and the first base to manufacture the replacement, Russian Defense announced, will be Krasnoyarsk by the end of the year. Initially scheduled for Q3 2021, launch tests will include at least three, one of which will cover maximum range, Tass had expected. The Sarmat can fly at a speed of 24,000 kilometers per hour, weighs 208 tons, can carry up to 178 tons of fuel and carry a warhead weighing almost 10 tons.
Putin’s message: “The Sarmat missile will guarantee Russia’s security against external threats”
“This truly unique weapon will increase the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security from external threats and give food for thought to those who, in the ardor of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, are trying to threaten our country,” the Kremlin chief said.
The Sarmat is a new heavy ICBM that Russia is expected to deploy with 10 or more missile warheads, according to the United States Congressional Research Service. It has been in development for years and so its recent launch comes as no surprise to the West, but it comes at a time of extreme geopolitical tensions due to the Russian war in Ukraine.