Russia’s Powerful Ballistic Missile Test Fails

KAZI ABUL MONSUR##

In light of the ongoing threat of a potential third world war with Western powers, Russia, one of the world’s leading military superpowers, announced in 2018 that it would bring its advanced RS-28 Sarmat (Satan-2) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into service. The missile was promoted as an invincible and highly destructive weapon, intended to replace the Soviet-era RS-36 ICBM with a range of 16,000 km.

Despite Russia’s media repeatedly claiming that the RS-28 Sarmat, with its range of 18,000 kilometers, was an invincible weapon, the missile has failed or been destroyed in all four launch tests conducted since 2022. This has been viewed as a major setback for Russia’s strategic military capabilities. Notably, on August 21 of this year, it is suspected that the missile exploded shortly after launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

Satellite imagery revealed a 60-meter-wide (200 feet) crater at the launch silo in northern Russia, as well as significant damage around the site. These images, taken in early September, did not show this crater beforehand, raising questions about whether the missile failed during its liquid-fueled launch or if a major accident occurred during the defueling process.

In 2020, during a military exercise, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly stated that a single RS-28 Sarmat missile could destroy a large country like Texas, France, or Germany within minutes. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin’s government has issued more than 100 nuclear threats.

Weighing 108.1 tons, the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM is designed to carry up to 10 large or 15 smaller nuclear and thermonuclear warheads (MIRV) with a payload capacity of approximately 10 tons. It is 35.5 meters long and 3 meters in diameter. Additionally, this missile is equipped with stealth technology and can carry the advanced Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.

Among the nuclear-capable ICBMs possessed by the world’s military powers, the RS-28 Sarmat is the largest and most destructive. This three-stage ICBM is designed to be launched from a silo-based platform and uses a liquid-fueled heavy rocket propulsion system.

According to Russian military experts, the missile can bypass any radar system and strike its target with precision at terminal phase speeds of Mach 20.7. When each warhead re-enters the atmosphere from space, it reaches these incredible speeds, reducing the time between space entry and ground impact to just 8 to 10 seconds, making it nearly impossible for any air defense system to intercept the warheads in time.

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces currently possess an estimated stockpile of 5,580 nuclear and thermonuclear warheads. This includes 1,710 ICBMs, of which 870 are land-based and operated from silo-based or mobile transporter erector launcher (TEL) platforms. Russia also has 640 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and 200 air-launched ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads for heavy bombers.

Russian media claims that the RS-28 Sarmat warheads are 2,000 times more destructive than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, this might be mere propaganda, as the missile has yet to complete even its preliminary testing phase successfully. Regardless, Western countries still fear Russia’s nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.

Sources: Reuters, CNN, Times of India, South China Morning Post, BBC.