At present, in the interests of the strategic missile forces, a new project of a heavy-class intercontinental ballistic missile is being developed. The result of the current work should be the appearance and adoption of the RS-28 "Sarmat" product, one of the main tasks of which will be to replace existing weapons of a similar class. For obvious reasons, the industry and the military department are in no hurry to announce various details of the new project. However, some information still becomes public knowledge. Recently, the general public has gained access to some new data.
The development of the Sarmat project is carried out by the State Missile Center. Academician V. P. Makeeva (Miass). The company recently updated its official website with some interesting information. Among other things, during the update, some information about the Sarmat project appeared on the site, as well as the first official image of a promising domestic ICBM. It should be admitted that not too much information has been published, however, it solidly complements the existing picture.
According to a short note "Development work" Sarmat "published in the section of the site" Combat missile systems ", work on a new project began in accordance with the government decree" On the state defense order for 2010 and the planning period 2012-2013. " In June 2011, the State Research and Development Center named after I. Makeeva and the Ministry of Defense signed a state contract for carrying out R&D with the code "Sarmat". The general designer was V. G. Degtyar, chief designer - Yu. A. Kaverin. The goal of the project is to create a promising strategic missile system intended for use in the Russian nuclear forces with the aim of guaranteed and effective deterrence of a potential adversary.
The official image of the "Sarmat" rocket from the State Research and Development Center named after Makeeva / Makeyev.ru
The short description of the work is now accompanied by an image of a promising ballistic missile. It is not very large or detailed, but it is still interesting. The depicted product has a cylindrical body of large elongation, on the walls of which characteristic stripes can be seen, apparently denoting a force set. The rocket has an ogival head fairing, and its tail section is equipped with an additional cylindrical unit that covers the power plant. There are also four distinctive belts on the body, covering it. Also on the rocket, namely on its head, there are various thickenings, hatches, etc.
The first official image of "Sarmat" is able to confirm some of the existing guesses, as well as refute others. Thus, the cylindrical assembly at the tail end of the product can be a powder pressure accumulator necessary for the implementation of a "cold start". The dimensions and proportions of the hull suggest the use of a three-stage architecture with a separate stage for breeding warheads. A similar layout of missiles was actively used in previous domestic projects.
It is impossible to establish any other details of the project from the published data. At the same time, some features of the appearance of the RS-28 rocket have already been announced. For example, it is known about the use of liquid propellant rocket engines at all stages. Taking into account the class of the rocket, the estimated launch weight is estimated at 100 tons or more. Various officials have pointed to a throw weight of about 5-10 tons. As combat equipment, it is planned to use several warheads with special charges that have the ability to maneuver.
It is noteworthy that the lack of official information leads to the emergence of the most daring assessments that are of certain interest. So, on October 24, the TASS news agency published an article "Grozny" Sarmat ": the heir of the" Voevoda "will overcome any missile defense", in which military observer Viktor Litovkin announced his assessments of the appearance and characteristics of the RS-28. He recalled that the starting weight of the new missile could be at the level of 100 tons with a throw weight of 10 tons. Being much lighter than the existing R-36M2 Voyevoda missiles, the new Sarmat will have to differ from them with increased characteristics.
V. Litovkin claims that the RS-28 product will be able to send warheads to a range of about 17 thousand km versus 10 thousand km from Voevoda. Such characteristics, in particular, will make it possible to send missiles to the target through the South Pole, which will ensure the effect of surprise and exclude interception by the anti-missile systems being created.
Also, the TASS military observer expects an increase in combat qualities in comparison with existing complexes. R-36M2 can only carry 10 warheads. The split warhead of the "Sarmat", in his opinion, will be able to carry no less than a dozen warheads with individual guidance. Warheads with a capacity of 150-300 kt will be able to be mounted at the breeding stage according to the principle of a "bunch of grapes". The block must be dropped in accordance with the flight program, at the time of entering the required trajectory.
V. Litovkin assumes that the warheads will approach their targets at hypersonic speeds over M = 17. In this case, the unit will be able to maneuver along the course and altitude, further complicating tracking and interception. In this case, the warhead will not be intercepted by existing or future anti-missile systems, including those using space-based elements. Referring to unnamed missilemen, the TASS observer claims that the Sarmat will simply not notice the enemy's missile defense system.
Also in the TASS article it is mentioned that the media have already published a possible designation of a promising hypersonic warhead: such a product is called the Yu-71. Increasing the accuracy of hitting the target, according to V. Litovkin, will make it possible to create nuclear warheads with a reduced charge power, as well as develop kinetic destruction systems that destroy the target only at the expense of their own energy.
Also in the article "Terrible" Sarmat ": the heir of the" Voevoda "will overcome any missile defense system" provides rough estimates of the quantitative aspects of the forthcoming rearmament of the Strategic Missile Forces. It is argued that after the termination of the operation of the Voevoda missiles, the armed forces will have about 150 silo launchers of such a complex, which can be used to deploy Sarmat products. Not all mines will receive new missiles, but a significant part of them will nevertheless remain in operation as part of new missile systems. V. Litovkin assumes that the number of new RS-28s will be noticeably inferior to the old P-36M2. The advantage in the number of warheads imposes some restrictions on the number of deployed missiles. When forming such plans, the limitations of existing international treaties should be taken into account, taking into account both land-based missile systems and sea-based or air-based systems.
According to a number of reports from industry, the military department and the media, by now the GRTs im. Makeeva and related organizations completed the bulk of the design work on the Sarmat theme. Moreover, a prototype rocket has already been manufactured for use in drop tests. However, the first stage of inspections has not yet begun, which leads to a noticeable shift in the timing of various works. So, in the middle of summer, it was asserted that the "Sarmat" ROC was behind the established schedule by several months.
By the end of last fall, the industry reportedly completed the production of the RS-28 throwing prototype. Until the end of 2015, this product was planned to be used in tests. Tests at the end of 2015 were soon canceled, and the first test run was postponed to the spring of 2016. However, a few weeks before the eventual jump start, unnamed sources in the defense industry told the press about the next revision of the timing. As it turned out, the mine launcher of the Plesetsk test site, which was planned to be used in the tests, is not yet ready for them. The date of the first launch was postponed to the second quarter of 2016.
In July of this year, there were new reports of a shift in dates. Some problems have been reported with the prototype first stage engine. Due to the need to correct the identified shortcomings, throw tests of an already finished prototype will be postponed to November-December. Because of this, flight tests will not begin until the end of the first quarter of 2017. It was also mentioned that all launcher issues have been successfully resolved.
According to the latest reports, the first throw tests of the RS-28 Sarmat missile prototype should take place in the very near future. Their implementation will allow the industry to continue work, which will result in the beginning of full-fledged flight design tests. It is planned to launch serial production of ICBMs of a new type by the end of the decade. Earlier it was reported that the first serial products will be transferred to the troops in 2019. Perhaps in the future, the Sarmat project will again have to face certain difficulties, but the current pace of work directly speaks of the intention of the industry and the military department to complete the project and start re-equipping the Strategic Missile Forces.
