One of the main innovations for the Russian strategic missile forces is the promising Avangard complex, which includes a unique hypersonic guided warhead. The newest complex has already passed all the main checks, and in the near future should go into service. Then the deployment of new systems in the Strategic Missile Forces units will begin. Not so long ago it became known exactly how the complexes on duty will look like and when they will be able to contribute to the country's defense capability.
The imminent adoption of the Avangard complex was officially announced in early June. Then Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that a promising product will take over duty next 2019. Recently, new information has emerged, according to which the order for acceptance into service may appear a little earlier, including before the end of this year.
2 regiments and 12 missiles
On October 29, the TASS news agency published new information about the planned deployment of promising complexes and the events preceding its start. An unnamed source in the military-industrial complex also cited information about the carrier of the new combat equipment and the need to conduct its checks before the start of a new stage of service.
According to the source, the first Avangard products will be deployed as combat equipment for the UR-100N UTTH heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles. The latter have been in service for a long time, and now it is proposed to use them as carriers of promising warheads. In accordance with existing standards, a test launch must be carried out before a new stage of missile service. However, as noted by the source, they may refuse to fulfill it. The "Avangard" combat unit has passed the necessary tests, and the UR-100N UTTH missile has long proven itself as a reliable and proven system. In this regard, it is possible that the military will do without a test launch.
In accordance with the results of such tests - if they take place - the final decision will be made on the adoption of the "Avangard" into service. An official document on this topic should appear in late 2018 or early 2019. It should be recalled that in the middle of the year other dates were indicated - slightly later.
According to TASS, the new complexes will be put on duty next year. The source pointed out that the end of 2019 was set as the directive date for the start of duty of the first Avangard regiment. At the same time, initially only two complexes of a new type will be on duty. Later, their number will increase to full-time. In total, the regiment will operate six missile systems.
It is reported that the current State Armaments Program, in effect until 2027, provides for the re-equipment of two regiments from the strategic missile forces. Each of them will keep six Vanguards on duty. To solve this problem, 12 UR-100N UTTH intercontinental missiles will be sent for restructuring and modernization. Each of them will receive a new hypersonic warhead, after which it will return to the unit to be placed in a silo launcher.
According to a TASS source, both regiments will become part of the missile division stationed in the Orenburg region. Apparently, we are talking about the 13th missile Orenburg Red Banner division from the 31st missile army of the Strategic Missile Forces.
It is not ruled out that in the future, new regiments equipped with Avangard complexes will appear in the missile forces. Decisions on their formation will be made in the future, in accordance with the current situation and actual threats. So far, the command plans to limit itself to only two regiments with 12 complexes on duty.
News year
The latest news from an anonymous source TASS is of great interest. They reveal some details of the planned work, and in addition, they seriously supplement the existing data. It should be recalled that until recently, very little was known about the Avangard project, and most of the information came from unofficial sources. This year the situation has changed dramatically, and the promising complex has become one of the most discussed topics.
The first official statement of the new weapon this year was made on March 1 as part of the President's Address to the Federal Assembly. Then V. Putin spoke about the existence of a promising missile system equipped with a hypersonic maneuvering warhead. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Karakaev, clarified that the Avangard complex has already coped with all the necessary tests. This statement became a kind of confirmation of previous unofficial reports and rumors about inspections of hypersonic weapons.
On March 12, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov disclosed new information about the progress of the Avangard project. He noted that the creation of new weapons was not easy, but the industry coped with the tasks set. In particular, scientists and designers had to solve the problems of heating and controlling the apparatus in flight. Successful trials confirmed the correctness of the approaches and solutions used. In addition, the deputy minister said that the military department had signed a contract for the serial production of promising products.
On June 7, during the Direct Line, the Russian President revealed new details of the ongoing work. According to him, the adoption of "Avangard" into service was scheduled for next 2019.
On July 19, the Ministry of Defense recalled the latest events and work, and also gave answers to pressing questions. The official report stated that the industry has launched the process of mass production of Avangard products and will soon be able to transfer finished samples to the missile forces. In addition, the Strategic Missile Forces began preparations for the future acceptance of new weapons. A complex of organizational and technical measures for the acceptance of new weapons into operation was carried out at the facilities of the positional area of the Dombarovsky Strategic Missile Forces compound.
In July, it was reported that specialists had carried out geodetic and engineering preparation of the positional area, necessary for the deployment of new weapons. Construction of new facilities and reconstruction of existing ones continued. The training of personnel, weapons and various equipment was also organized.
Also in the middle of summer, the Ministry of Defense showed a video from the tests of the missile system. The published video showed the preparation for the launch and the beginning of the rocket flight. In addition, he showed that the UR-100N UTTKh missile was used as the carrier of the Avangard during the tests.
According to the latest reports from the Russian media, preparations for the deployment of the Avangard missile systems are proceeding on schedule or ahead of schedule. Admission to service can be expected not in 2019, as indicated earlier, but already at the end of 2018. Almost the entire next year will be spent on the preparation of a pair of silo launchers of the 13th missile division and the modernization of the UR-100N UTTH missiles for a new stage of operation.
Thus, in accordance with the well-known plans of the command, by the beginning of 2020 at least two Avangard complexes will be on duty in the strategic missile forces. Over the next few years, their number will increase sixfold due to the re-equipment of the first regiment and the organization of the second. Plans for future periods remain unknown and may not even have been determined yet.
Carriers of the complex
According to the available data, the UR-100N UTTH intercontinental ballistic missile will be the carrier of the Avangard promising hypersonic warhead. In standard equipment, this product has a launch weight of more than 105 tons and delivers 6 warheads for individual guidance at a distance of up to 10 thousand km. It is not known how the main combat characteristics and qualities of the missile should change after the replacement of standard warheads by Avangard. There is every reason to believe that the delivery range of the warhead will increase significantly.
Unlike standard warheads that fall on a target along a ballistic trajectory, the Avangard product is capable of gliding flight with control along the trajectory. Obviously, this method of flight, combined with hypersonic speed after separation from the carrier, will allow the warhead to independently cover considerable distances, and along an unpredictable route. It can be assumed that Avangard will increase the range of existing missiles by several thousand kilometers.
The use of the UR-100N UTTH rocket as a carrier has a number of specific consequences. First of all, it is necessary to take into account that this ICBM is distinguished by its great age, and in the foreseeable future the Strategic Missile Forces are going to abandon it due to moral and physical obsolescence. Thus, it may turn out that the 12 complexes planned to be put on duty as part of the UR-100N UTTKh and Avangard will be the first and last of their kind. In the future, hypersonic weapons will need a new carrier.
For several years, they discussed the assumption of the possibility of installing the "Avangard" on the promising intercontinental missile RS-28 "Sarmat". On March 1, 2018, V. Putin pointed out that the Sarmat ICBM will be able to carry various options for combat equipment, including hypersonic units. It was about the Avangard product, announced by the president a little later. There is no information yet on the future deployment of hypersonic weapons on the Sarmat.
According to Russian press reports published a few days ago, the serial production of the RS-28 ICBM will start in 2021. At the same time, the first missiles of a new type are planned to be transferred to units of the Strategic Missile Forces for loading into silo launchers in order to organize combat duty. In 2021, only two missiles in one of the regiments will take over duty. Later, the unit will increase the number of missiles on duty to the standard number of six. Then the rearmament of other units and formations of the Strategic Missile Forces will begin.
In the recent past, in the context of the Avangard project, another example of a promising weapon with the Rubezh code was mentioned and discussed. It was about the RS-26 ballistic missile. According to the available data, it was an improved analogue of the serial product RS-24 "Yars" and in the future had to supplement it. Due to the lack of accurate data and some confusion with the designations, the "Rubezh" project was often identified with the "Avangard". Later, a version appeared about the possibility of installing a hypersonic warhead on the RS-26 rocket.
From the available data, it follows that the system in the form of the RS-26 and Avangard would be a mobile ground missile system with an intercontinental firing range and special combat qualities achieved through new combat equipment. However, this concept was abandoned. At the end of March this year, it became known that the RS-26 project was not included in the new State Armaments Program. Instead, the command plans to develop the "Avangard" complex in a mine version. Thus, the hypersonic aircraft has lost one of its potential carriers.
There are no data or at least rumors about the possibility of creating new versions of the Avangard complex based on this or that carrier. According to the available information, the complex with the UR-100N UTTH missile will first enter service. Until 2027, two regiments with such systems will be on duty as part of the strategic missile forces. It is also possible that a certain number of "Sarmatians" appear with "Avangard" products. Whether the latter will be used with other missiles is unknown.
Weapon of the future
Officials and unnamed press sources this year helped to form a fairly detailed picture of the situation around the Avangard hypersonic warhead and related systems. In particular, thanks to them, plans for the deployment of such weapons became known. This process will start next year and will continue for several years. The Strategic Missile Forces will put on duty not the largest number of new missiles, but their number, apparently, will meet current requirements. In the future, a new decision may appear to supplement the Vanguards grouping in one form or another.
It is expected that the special combat equipment of the new missile system will dramatically increase the speed and effectiveness of missile strikes against potential enemy targets. At the same time, the growth of combat qualities, among other things, will be ensured by the impossibility of intercepting the Vanguard with the existing anti-missile defense means. Thus, in the near future, our country will have a real weapon of the future, capable of responding to all modern and promising challenges.
