For many years, land-based ICBMs have been the largest component of the USSR's strategic triad. At the height of the Cold War, the Strategic Missile Forces included up to 1,400 ICBMs with 6,600 nuclear warheads installed on them. Many years have passed since that time, the Iron Curtain fell, the Cold War became one of the milestones in history, but today the Russian Strategic Missile Forces are the largest component of the triad and include about 370 deployed ICBMs with 1,300 warheads installed.
Last year, the Strategic Missile Forces were armed with old ICBMs with MIRVed IN - UR-100NUTTH and R-36M2, on which 80% of the warheads of the entire strategic arsenal were installed. R-36M2 missiles may be in service until 2025.
Just the other day, the third missile division armed with Yars complexes was accepted on combat duty in the Teikovo missile division, which is stationed in the Ivanovo region, said Colonel Vadim Koval, an official representative of the information department and press service of the Russian Defense Ministry for the Strategic Missile Forces.
The first two divisions, armed with Yars complexes with an RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile, took up combat duty on March 4 of this year. As reported earlier in the Ministry of Defense, since 2010, these missile divisions have been performing preliminary tasks of experimental combat duty. During this period, all the previously announced tactical, technical and combat characteristics of the missile system were confirmed, and all tasks were worked out that made it possible to confirm the reliability and importance of the new weapons. Thanks to this, according to V. Koval, the first separate missile regiment, equipped with new complexes, appeared in the Russian Armed Forces. Now he, in full staff, performs tasks related to combat duty.
An equally important role in the overall complex of the Strategic Missile Forces is played by another ICBM - the Topol mobile strategic missile, which will be completed approximately in the period from 2012 to 2017. In 1997, for its full-scale replacement, Russia created a completely new ICBM Topol-M, which can be installed on mobile ground and stationary mine launchers. At the same time, this light monoblock missile, taking into account its combat characteristics, cannot replace heavier ICBMs with MIRVs like the UR-100NUTTH and R-36M2. These missiles have been installed in stationary silos since 1997, and mobile launchers were deployed in 2006. By 2010, the Strategic Missile Forces had only 68 missiles of this class in service. To replace obsolete heavy ICBMs, it was decided to develop a modern heavy liquid ICBM stationary silo, which should enter service after about 2016
The ballistic missile, which was adopted by the Yars RS-24 complex with a multiple warhead, was designed on the basis of technological and scientific-technical solutions that were embodied in the Topol-M missile system. The designers have incorporated technical characteristics into the new rocket that make it practically invulnerable at every stage of the flight - from launch to destruction of the target.“It is necessary to note the important ability of new missiles to remain invulnerable before launch due to their mobility and, if necessary, to solve the problem of breaking through any anti-missile defense system that is promising in the next 15-20 years. To solve the complex problem of a missile defense breakthrough, the designers have provided such technical characteristics that make it possible to speak of the invulnerability of Russian new missiles,”said the Commander of the Missile Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Karakaev.
He also explained that the Yars ICBM is practically invulnerable to missile defense systems, including at the starting acceleration stage, the most vulnerable stage of the flight, when the required speed is reached up to the warhead disengagement mode. Modern ICBMs "have the shortest possible acceleration phase, much shorter in duration than the old types of missiles." “In an extremely short segment, the missiles are actively maneuvering along the course and altitude, making it impossible to accurately predict the point of contact for the interceptor,” the commander explained.
At the first stage, which professionals call "active", the rocket instantly picks up speed, which allows the warheads to reach an object located at a distance of several thousand kilometers from the launcher. At the same time, distinguish them from a number of false targets, while simultaneously coping with the action of active jamming stations, which significantly complicate radar searches for guidance systems. For the RS-24 rocket, the initial, accelerating stage of flight takes a short period of time, so the enemy has practically no chances to shoot down the rocket within the first minutes after launch. In the West, this missile is classified as one of the most dangerous types of weapons and is called "Satan".
At the same time, Russia is not limited to work alone to strengthen the ground systems of the Strategic Missile Forces. Considerable attention is also paid to strengthening positions in the sea. The main efforts in this case are aimed at continuing the operation of 6 Project 667BDRM SSBNs and building a series of 8 Project 955 SSBNs. In order to extend the operation of Project 667BDRM submarines, production of the R-29RM Sineva SLBM was resumed. By 2011, 5 out of 6 submarines were converted to new type of missiles. Each boat carries 16 missiles on board, the total number of warheads is 384, the submarines can be in service until 2020, and possibly longer.
To replace submarines of this type in Russia, the submarines of project 955 "Borey" and "Yuri Dolgoruky" are being built. This year, tests of a new solid-propellant SLBM Bulava, which will be installed on Project 955 submarines, should be completed. Of the 12 test launches that were carried out in 2005-2009, 8 ended in failure, and only one launch was recognized as successful. If the Bulava continues to be successfully tested, its carrier SSBN Yuri Dolgoruky will be put into service next year.
