Russia says its new high-speed, high-tech Satan II missile system will be ready for deployment this fall after a successful test this week. The Russian Defense Ministry said the ICBM Sarmat was launched from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia on Wednesday and its training warheads successfully hit mock targets on the spot. shooting range in Kura, in the far east of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
He said the launch was fully successful, proving the characteristics of the missile “in all phases of its flight”.
Addressing senior officials, Vladimir Putin hailed the Sarmat launch, saying the new missile has no foreign analogues and is capable of penetrating any potential missile defenses.
“This truly unique weapon will enhance the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security against external threats and make those who, in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country,” Putin said.
The Sarmat is a heavy missile that has been in development for several years to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which has been codenamed Satan by the West and forms the heart of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
“The Sarmat is the most powerful missile with the highest range in the world, and it will significantly boost the capability of the country’s strategic nuclear forces,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the Sarmat is capable of carrying hypersonic glider vehicles as well as other types of warheads. The Russian military had previously said that the Avangard hypersonic vehicle could be installed on the new missile.
The military said the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and performing precise maneuvers on its way to the target to dodge the enemy’s missile shield.
It was fitted to existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first armed unit of the Avangard entered service in December 2019.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the state agency Roscosmos which oversees the missile factory building the Sarmat, described Wednesday’s test as a “gift to NATO” in a comment on his messaging app channel. .
Mr Rogozin said the Sarmat is expected to be fielded by the army this fall after its trials are completed, calling it a “super weapon”.
