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The information agency "Arms of Russia" continues to publish ratings of weapons and military equipment. This time, experts assessed Russian ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and foreign countries.">

4:57 / 10.02.12

Ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles of Russia and foreign countries (rating)

The Russian Arms information agency continues to publish ratings of weapons and military equipment. This time, experts assessed ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from Russia and foreign countries.

The comparative assessment was carried out according to the following parameters:

• firepower (number of warheads (WB), total power of WB, maximum range shooting, accuracy - KVO)
• constructive perfection (launch mass of the rocket, overall characteristics, relative density of the rocket - the ratio of the launch mass of the rocket to the volume of the transport and launch container (TPC))
• operation (based on a ground-moving missile system (MGRS) or placement in a silo launcher (silo launcher), time of the interregulatory period, possibility of extending the warranty period)

The sum of points for all parameters gave an overall assessment of the compared MDB. It was taken into account that each ICBM taken from the statistical sample, compared with other ICBMs, was evaluated based on the technical requirements of its time.

The variety of ground-based ICBMs is so great that the sample includes only ICBMs that are currently in service and have a range of more than 5,500 km - and only China, Russia and the United States have such (Great Britain and France have abandoned ground-based ICBMs , placing them only on submarines).

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

Based on the number of points scored, the first four places were taken by:

1. Russian ICBM R-36M2 “Voevoda” (15A18M, START code - RS-20V, according to NATO classification - SS-18 Satan (Russian: “Satan”))

• Adopted into service, 1988
• Fuel - liquid
• Number of accelerating stages - 2
• Length, m - 34.3
• Maximum diameter, m - 3.0
• Launch weight, t - 211.4
• Start - mortar (for silos)
• Throwing weight, kg - 8,800
• Flight range, km -11,000 - 16,000
• Number of BB, power, ct -10Х550-800
• KVO, m - 400 - 500

Total points for all parameters - 28.5

The most powerful ground-based ICBM is the 15A18M missile of the R-36M2 "Voevoda" complex (designation of the Strategic Missile Forces RS-20V, NATO designation SS-18mod4 "Satan". The R-36M2 complex has no equal in its technological level and combat capabilities.

The 15A18M is capable of carrying platforms with several dozen (from 20 to 36) individually targeted nuclear MIRVs, as well as maneuvering warheads. It is equipped with a missile defense system, which allows one to break through layered missile defense systems using weapons based on new physical principles. R-36M2 are on duty in ultra-protected silo launchers, which are resistant to shock waves at a level of about 50 MPa (500 kg/sq. cm).

The design of the R-36M2 includes the ability to launch directly during a period of massive enemy nuclear impact on a positional area and blocking a positional area with high-altitude nuclear explosions. The missile has the highest resistance among ICBMs to nuclear weapons.

The rocket is covered with a dark heat-protective coating, making it easier to pass through the cloud of a nuclear explosion. It is equipped with a system of sensors that measure neutron and gamma radiation, register dangerous levels and, while the missile passes through the cloud of a nuclear explosion, turn off the control system, which remains stabilized until the missile leaves the danger zone, after which the control system turns on and corrects the trajectory.

A strike of 8-10 15A18M missiles (in fully equipped) ensured destruction of 80% industrial potential USA and most of the population.

2. US ICBM LGM-118A “Peacekeeper” - MX

Basic tactics specifications(TTX):

• Adopted into service, 1986
• Fuel - solid
• Number of accelerating stages - 3
• Length, m - 21.61
• Maximum diameter, m - 2.34
• Launch weight, t - 88.443
• Start - mortar (for silos)
• Throwing weight, kg - 3,800
• Flight range, km - 9,600
• Number of BB, power, ct - 10X300
• KVO, m - 90 - 120

Total points for all parameters - 19.5

The most powerful and advanced American ICBM, the three-stage solid-propellant MX missile, was equipped with ten with a yield of 300 kt each. It had increased resistance to the effects of nuclear weapons and had the ability to overcome the existing missile defense system, limited by an international treaty.

The MX had the greatest capabilities among ICBMs in terms of accuracy and ability to hit a heavily protected target. At the same time, the MXs themselves were based only in the improved silo launchers of the Minuteman ICBMs, which were inferior in security to the Russian silo launchers. According to American experts, the MX was 6-8 times superior in combat capabilities to the Minuteman-3.

A total of 50 MX missiles were deployed, which were on alert in a state of 30-second readiness for launch. Removed from service in 2005, the missiles and all equipment of the position area are being preserved. Options for using MX to launch high-precision non-nuclear strikes are being considered.

3. Russian ICBM PC-24 "Yars" - Russian solid-fuel mobile-based intercontinental ballistic missile with a multiple warhead

Main tactical and technical characteristics (TTX):

• Adopted for service, 2009
• Fuel - solid
• Number of accelerating stages - 3
• Length, m - 22.0
• Maximum diameter, m - 1.58
• Launch weight, t - 47.1
• Start - mortar
• Throwing weight, kg - 1,200
• Flight range, km - 11,000
• Number of BB, power, ct - 4X300
• KVO, m - 150

The total points for all parameters is 17.7

Structurally, the RS-24 is similar to the Topol-M and has three stages. Differs from RS-12M2 "Topol-M":

• new platform for breeding blocks with warheads
• re-equipment of some part of the missile control system
• increased payload

The missile enters service in a factory transport and launch container (TPC), in which it spends its entire service. The body of the missile product is coated with special compounds to reduce the effects of a nuclear explosion. Probably, an additional composition was applied using stealth technology.

Guidance and control system (GCS) is an autonomous inertial control system with an on-board digital computer (OND), probably using astro correction. The proposed developer of the control system is the Moscow Research and Production Center for Instrumentation and Automation.

The use of the active trajectory section has been reduced. To improve the speed characteristics at the end of the third stage, it is possible to use a turn with a direction of zero increment of distance until the last stage's fuel reserve is fully exhausted.

The instrumentation compartment is completely sealed. The rocket is capable of overcoming the cloud of a nuclear explosion at launch and performing a program maneuver. For testing, the rocket will most likely be equipped with a telemetry system - the T-737 Triad receiver and indicator.

To counter missile defense systems, the missile is equipped with a countermeasures system. From November 2005 to December 2010, tests of anti-missile defense systems were carried out using Topol and K65M-R missiles.

4. Russian ICBM UR-100N UTTH (GRAU index - 15A35, START code - RS-18B, according to NATO classification - SS-19 Stiletto (English “Stiletto”))

Main tactical and technical characteristics (TTX):

• Adopted into service, 1979
• Fuel - liquid
• Number of accelerating stages - 2
• Length, m - 24.3
• Maximum diameter, m - 2.5
• Launch weight, t - 105.6
• Start - gas-dynamic
• Throwing weight, kg - 4,350
• Flight range, km - 10,000
• Number of BB, power, ct - 6Х550
• KVO, m - 380

The total points for all parameters is 16.6

The 15A35 ICBM is a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, made according to the “tandem” design with a sequential separation of stages. The rocket is distinguished by a very dense layout and virtually no “dry” compartments. According to official data, as of July 2009, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces had 70 deployed 15A35 ICBMs.

The last division was previously in the process of liquidation, but by decision of the President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev in November 2008, the liquidation process was terminated. The division will continue to be on duty with the 15A35 ICBM until it is re-equipped with “new missile systems” (apparently either Topol-M or RS-24).

Apparently, in the near future, the number of 15A35 missiles on combat duty will be further reduced until it stabilizes at a level of about 20-30 units, taking into account purchased missiles. Missile complex The UR-100N UTTH is extremely reliable - 165 test and combat training launches were carried out, of which only three were unsuccessful.

The American magazine of the Air Force Missile Association called the UR-100N UTTH missile “one of the most outstanding technical developments of the Cold War.” The first complex, still with UR-100N missiles, was put on combat duty in 1975 with warranty period operation for 10 years. During its creation, all the best design solutions worked out on previous generations of "hundreds" were implemented.

The high reliability indicators of the missile and the complex as a whole, then achieved during the operation of the improved complex with the UR-100N UTTH ICBM, allowed the military-political leadership of the country to set before the RF Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, the command of the Strategic Missile Forces and the lead developer represented by NPO Mashinostroeniya the task of gradually extending the service life of the complex with 10 to 15, then to 20, 25 and finally to 30 and beyond.

, Great Britain, France and China.

An important stage in the development of rocket technology was the creation of systems with multiple warheads. The first implementation options did not have individual guidance of warheads; the benefit of using several small charges instead of one powerful one is greater efficiency when affecting area targets, so in 1970 Soviet Union R-36 missiles with three 2.3 Mt warheads were deployed. In the same year, the United States put the first Minuteman III systems on combat duty, which had a completely new quality - the ability to deploy warheads along individual trajectories to hit multiple targets.

The first mobile ICBMs were adopted in the USSR: the Temp-2S on a wheeled chassis (1976) and the railway-based RT-23 UTTH (1989). In the United States, work was also carried out on similar systems, but none of them were put into service.

A special direction in the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles was work on “heavy” missiles. In the USSR, such missiles were the R-36, and its further development, the R-36M, which were put into service in 1967 and 1975, and in the USA in 1963 the Titan-2 ICBM entered service. In 1976, Yuzhnoye Design Bureau began developing the new RT-23 ICBM, while work on the missile had been underway in the United States since 1972; they were put into service in (in the RT-23UTTKh version) and 1986, respectively. R-36M2, which entered service in 1988, is the most powerful and heaviest in the history of missile weapons: a 211-ton rocket, when fired at 16,000 km, carries on board 10 warheads with a capacity of 750 kt each.

Design

Operating principle

Ballistic missiles typically launch vertically. Having received some translational speed in the vertical direction, the rocket, with the help of a special software mechanism, equipment and controls, gradually begins to move from a vertical position to an inclined position towards the target.

By the end of engine operation, the longitudinal axis of the rocket acquires an angle of inclination (pitch) corresponding to the greatest range of its flight, and the speed becomes equal to a strictly established value that ensures this range.

After the engine stops operating, the rocket performs its entire further flight by inertia, describing in the general case an almost strictly elliptical trajectory. At the top of the trajectory, the rocket's flight speed takes on its lowest value. The apogee of the trajectory of ballistic missiles is usually located at an altitude of several hundred kilometers from the surface of the earth, where, due to the low density of the atmosphere, air resistance is almost completely absent.

In the descending section of the trajectory, the rocket's flight speed gradually increases due to the loss of altitude. With further descent, the rocket passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere at enormous speeds. In this case, the skin of the ballistic missile is strongly heated, and if the necessary safety measures are not taken, its destruction may occur.

Classification

Based method

Based on their launching method, intercontinental ballistic missiles are divided into:

• launched from ground-based stationary launchers: R-7, Atlas;
• launched from silo launchers (silos): RS-18, PC-20, “Minuteman”;
• launched from mobile installations based on a wheeled chassis: “Topol-M”, “Midgetman”;
• launched from railway launchers: RT-23UTTKh;
• submarine-launched ballistic missiles: Bulava, Trident.

The first basing method fell out of use in the early 1960s, as it did not meet the requirements of security and secrecy. Modern silos provide high degree protection from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and allow one to reliably hide the level of combat readiness of the launch complex. The remaining three options are mobile, and therefore more difficult to detect, but they impose significant restrictions on the size and weight of missiles.

ICBM design bureau named after. V. P. Makeeva

Other methods of basing ICBMs have been repeatedly proposed, designed to ensure secrecy of deployment and security of launch complexes, for example:

• on specialized aircraft and even airships with the launch of ICBMs in flight;
• in ultra-deep (hundreds of meters) mines in rocks, from which transport and launch containers (TPC) with missiles must rise to the surface before launch;
• at the bottom of the continental shelf in pop-up capsules;
• in a network of underground galleries through which mobile launchers continuously move.

Until now, none of these projects have been brought to practical implementation.

Engines

Early versions of ICBMs used liquid-propellant rocket engines and required lengthy refueling with propellant components immediately before launch. Preparations for launch could last several hours, and the time to maintain combat readiness was very short. In the case of using cryogenic components (R-7), the equipment of the launch complex was very cumbersome. All this significantly limited the strategic value of such missiles. Modern ICBMs use solid propellant rocket engines or liquid rocket engines with high-boiling components with ampulized fueling. Such missiles arrive from the factory in transport and launch containers. This allows them to be stored in a ready-to-start condition throughout their entire service life. Liquid rockets are delivered to the launch complex in an unfuelled state. Refueling is carried out after the TPK with the missile is installed in the launcher, after which the missile can be in combat-ready condition for many months and years. Preparation for launch usually takes no more than a few minutes and is carried out remotely, from a remote command post, via cable or radio channels. Periodic checks of missile and launcher systems are also carried out.

Modern ICBMs usually have a variety of means to penetrate enemy missile defenses. They may include maneuvering warheads, radar jammers, decoys, etc.

Indicators

Launch of the Dnepr rocket

Peaceful use

For example, with the help of American Atlas and Titan ICBMs, launches were carried out spaceships Mercury and Gemini. And the Soviet PC-20, PC-18 ICBMs and the naval R-29RM served as the basis for the creation of the Dnepr, Strela, Rokot and Shtil launch vehicles.

see also

Notes

Links

• Andreev D. Missiles do not go into reserve // ​​“Red Star”. June 25, 2008

NATO gave the name “SS-18 “Satan” (“Satan”) to the family of Russian missile systems with a heavy ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile, developed and put into service in the 1970s - 1980s. According to the official Russian classification, this is R- 36M, R-36M UTTH, R-36M2, RS-20. And the Americans called this missile “Satan” for the reason that it is difficult to shoot down, and in the vast territories of the United States and Western Europe these Russian missiles will create hell.

SS-18 "Satan" was created under the leadership of chief designer V.F. Utkin. In terms of its characteristics, this missile surpasses the most powerful American missile, Minuteman-3.

Satan is the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile on Earth. It is intended, first of all, to destroy the most fortified command posts, ballistic missile silos and air bases. The nuclear explosives of one missile can destroy Big city, quite most USA. Hit accuracy is about 200-250 meters.

"The rocket is housed in the world's strongest silos"; according to initial reports - 2500-4500 psi, some mines - 6000-7000 psi. This means that if there is no direct hit by American nuclear explosives on the mine, the rocket will withstand a powerful blow, the hatch will open and “Satan” will fly out of the ground and rush towards the United States, where in half an hour he will give the Americans hell. And dozens of such missiles will rush towards the United States. And each missile contains ten individually targetable warheads. The power of the warheads is equal to 1,200 bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima. With one strike, the Satan missile can destroy US and Western European facilities over an area of ​​up to 500 square meters. kilometers. And dozens of such missiles will fly towards the United States. This is complete kaput for the Americans. “Satan” easily breaks through the American system missile defense.

She was invulnerable in the 80s and continues to be creepy for Americans today. Americans will not be able to create reliable protection against the Russian “Satan” until 2015-2020. But what scares the Americans even more is the fact that the Russians have begun developing even more satanic missiles.

“The SS-18 missile carries 16 platforms, one of which is loaded with decoys. When entering a high orbit, all “Satan” heads go “in a cloud” of false targets and are practically not identified by radars.”

But, even if the Americans see the “Satan” on the final segment of the trajectory, the heads of the “Satan” are practically not vulnerable to anti-missile weapons, because to destroy the “Satan” only a direct hit on the head of a very powerful anti-missile is necessary (and the Americans do not have anti-missiles with such characteristics ). “So such a defeat is very difficult and practically impossible with the level of American technology in the coming decades. As for the famous laser weapons for damaging heads, the SS-18 has them covered with massive armor with the addition of uranium-238, an extremely heavy and dense metal. Such armor cannot be “burned through” by a laser. In any case, with those lasers that can be built in the next 30 years. Pulses of electromagnetic radiation cannot knock down the SS-18 flight control system and its heads, because all the Satan’s control systems are duplicated, in addition to electronic ones, by pneumatic automatic machines.”

By mid-1988, 308 Satan intercontinental missiles were ready to fly from the underground mines of the USSR towards the United States and Western Europe. “Of the 308 launch mines that existed in the USSR at that time, Russia accounted for 157. The rest were in Ukraine and Belarus.” Each missile has 10 warheads. The power of the warheads is equal to 1,200 bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima. With one strike, the Satan missile can destroy US and Western European facilities over an area of ​​up to 500 square meters. kilometers. And if necessary, three hundred such missiles will fly towards the United States. This is complete kaput for Americans and Western Europeans.

The development of the R-36M strategic missile system with a third-generation heavy intercontinental ballistic missile 15A14 and a silo launcher with increased security 15P714 was led by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. The new missile used all the best developments obtained during the creation of the previous complex, the R-36.

The technical solutions used to create the rocket made it possible to create the world's most powerful combat missile system. It was significantly superior to its predecessor, the R-36:

• in terms of shooting accuracy - 3 times.
• in terms of combat readiness - 4 times.
• in terms of the energy capabilities of the rocket - 1.4 times.
• according to the initially established warranty period of operation - 1.4 times.
• in terms of launcher security - 15-30 times.
• in terms of the degree of utilization of the launcher volume - 2.4 times.

The two-stage R-36M rocket was made according to the “tandem” design with a sequential arrangement of stages. To optimize the use of volume, dry compartments were excluded from the rocket, with the exception of the second stage interstage adapter. The applied design solutions made it possible to increase the fuel supply by 11% while maintaining the diameter and reducing the total length of the first two stages of the rocket by 400 mm compared to the 8K67 rocket.

The first stage uses the RD-264 propulsion system, consisting of four 15D117 single-chamber engines operating in a closed circuit, developed by KBEM (chief designer - V.P. Glushko). The engines are hinged and their deflection according to commands from the control system provides control of the rocket's flight.

The second stage uses a propulsion system consisting of a main single-chamber 15D7E (RD-0229) engine operating in a closed circuit and a four-chamber steering engine 15D83 (RD-0230) operating in an open circuit.

The rocket's liquid-propellant rocket engines operated on high-boiling two-component self-igniting fuel. Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) was used as a fuel, and dinitrogen tetroxide (AT) was used as an oxidizing agent.

The separation of the first and second stages is gas-dynamic. It was ensured by the actuation of explosive bolts and the outflow of pressurized gases from the fuel tanks through special windows.

Thanks to the improved pneumatic-hydraulic system of the rocket with complete ampulization of fuel systems after refueling and the elimination of leakage of compressed gases from the side of the rocket, it was possible to increase the time spent in full combat readiness to 10-15 years with the potential for operation up to 25 years.

The schematic diagrams of the rocket and control system were developed based on the possibility of using three variants of the warhead:

• Lightweight monoblock with a charge capacity of 8 Mt and a flight range of 16,000 km;
• Heavy monoblock with a charge capacity of 25 Mt and a flight range of 11,200 km;
• Multiple warhead (MIRV) of 8 warheads with a capacity of 1 Mt each;

All missile warheads were equipped with an improved system of means to overcome missile defense. For the first time, quasi-heavy decoys were created for the 15A14 missile defense system to penetrate the missile defense system. Thanks to the use of a special solid-propellant booster engine, the progressively increasing thrust of which compensates for the aerodynamic braking force of the decoy, it was possible to imitate the characteristics of warheads in almost all selectivity characteristics in the extra-atmospheric part of the trajectory and a significant part of the atmospheric part.

One of the technical innovations that largely determined high level characteristics of the new missile system was the use of a mortar launch of a missile from a transport and launch container (TPC). For the first time in world practice, a mortar design for a heavy liquid-propelled ICBM was developed and implemented. At launch, the pressure created by the powder pressure accumulators pushed the rocket out of the TPK and only after leaving the silo the rocket engine was started.

The missile, placed at the manufacturing plant in a transport and launch container, was transported and installed in a silo launcher (silo) in an unfuelled state. The rocket was refueled with fuel components and the warhead was docked after installing the TPK with the rocket in the silo. Checks of onboard systems, preparation for launch and launch of the rocket were carried out automatically after the control system received the appropriate commands from a remote command post. To prevent unauthorized launch, the control system accepted for execution only commands with a specific code key. The use of such an algorithm became possible thanks to the implementation at all command posts Strategic Missile Forces new system centralized management.

The missile control system is autonomous, inertial, three-channel with multi-tier majority control. Each channel was self-tested. If the commands of all three channels did not match, control was assumed by the successfully tested channel. The on-board cable network (BCN) was considered absolutely reliable and was not defective in tests.

The acceleration of the gyroplatform (15L555) was carried out by forced acceleration automatic machines (AFAs) of digital ground-based equipment (TsNA), and in the first stages of work - by software devices for accelerating the gyroplatform (PUG). On-board digital computer (ONDVM) (15L579) 16-bit, ROM - memory cube. Programming was done in machine codes.

The developer of the control system (including the on-board computer) was the Electrical Instrumentation Design Bureau (KBE, now JSC Khartron, Kharkov), the on-board computer was produced by the Kiev Radio Plant, the control system was mass-produced at the Shevchenko and Kommunar factories (Kharkov).

The development of the third generation strategic missile system R-36M UTTH (GRAU index - 15P018, START code - RS-20B, according to the US and NATO classification - SS-18 Mod.4) with a 15A18 missile equipped with a 10-block multiple warhead has begun August 16, 1976.

The missile system was created as a result of the implementation of a program to improve and increase the combat effectiveness of the previously developed 15P014 (R-36M) complex. The complex ensures the destruction of up to 10 targets with one missile, including high-strength small-sized or particularly large area targets located on terrain of up to 300,000 km², in conditions of effective counteraction by enemy missile defense systems. Increased efficiency of the new complex was achieved through:

• increasing shooting accuracy by 2-3 times;
• increasing the number of warheads (BB) and the power of their charges;
• increasing the BB breeding area;
• the use of highly protected silo launchers and command posts;
• increasing the probability of bringing launch commands to the silo.

The layout of the 15A18 rocket is similar to the 15A14. This is a two-stage rocket with a tandem arrangement of stages. Included new rocket The first and second stages of the 15A14 rocket were used without modifications. The first stage engine is a four-chamber liquid propellant rocket engine RD-264 of a closed design. The second stage uses a single-chamber propulsion rocket engine RD-0229 of a closed circuit and a four-chamber steering rocket engine RD-0257 of an open circuit. The separation of stages and the separation of the combat stage is gas-dynamic.

The main difference of the new missile was the newly developed propagation stage and MIRV with ten new high-speed units with increased power charges. The propulsion stage engine is a four-chamber, dual-mode (thrust 2000 kgf and 800 kgf) with multiple (up to 25 times) switching between modes. This allows you to create the most optimal conditions for the breeding of all warheads. Another design feature of this engine is two fixed positions of the combustion chambers. In flight, they are located inside the propagation stage, but after the stage is separated from the rocket, special mechanisms move the combustion chambers beyond the outer contour of the compartment and deploy them to implement the “pulling” scheme for propagation of warheads. The MIR itself is made according to a two-tier design with a single aerodynamic fairing. The memory capacity of the onboard computer was also increased and the control system was modernized to use improved algorithms. At the same time, the shooting accuracy was improved by 2.5 times, and the readiness time for launch was reduced to 62 seconds.

The R-36M UTTH missile in a transport and launch container (TPK) is installed in a silo launcher and is on combat duty in a fueled state in full combat readiness. To load the TPK into a mine structure, SKB MAZ has developed special transport and installation equipment in the form of a high-cross-country semi-trailer with a tractor based on the MAZ-537. The mortar method of launching a rocket is used.

Flight design tests of the R-36M UTTH rocket began on October 31, 1977 at the Baikonur test site. According to the flight test program, 19 launches were carried out, 2 of which were unsuccessful. The reasons for these failures were clarified and eliminated, and the effectiveness of the measures taken was confirmed by subsequent launches. A total of 62 launches were carried out, of which 56 were successful.

On September 18, 1979, three missile regiments began combat duty at the new missile complex. As of 1987, 308 R-36M UTTH ICBMs were deployed as part of five missile divisions. As of May 2006, the Strategic Missile Forces included 74 silo launchers with R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 ICBMs, equipped with 10 warheads each.

The high reliability of the complex has been confirmed by 159 launches as of September 2000, of which only four were unsuccessful. These failures during the launch of serial products are due to manufacturing defects.

After the collapse of the USSR and economic crisis In the early 1990s, the question arose about extending the service life of the R-36M UTTH until they were replaced by new Russian-developed complexes. For this purpose, on April 17, 1997, the R-36M UTTH rocket, manufactured 19.5 years ago, was successfully launched. NPO Yuzhnoye and the 4th Central Research Institute of the Moscow Region carried out work to increase the warranty period of missiles from 10 years successively to 15, 18 and 20 years. On April 15, 1998, a training launch of the R-36M UTTH rocket was carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, during which ten training warheads hit all training targets at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka.

A joint Russian-Ukrainian venture was also created for the development and further commercial use of the Dnepr light-class launch vehicle based on the R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 missiles

On August 9, 1983, by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau was tasked with modifying the R-36M UTTH missile so that it could overcome the promising American missile defense (ABM) system. In addition, it was necessary to increase the protection of the missile and the entire complex from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion.

View of the instrument compartment (expansion stage) of the 15A18M rocket from the warhead side. Elements of the propagation engine are visible (aluminium-colored - fuel and oxidizer tanks, green - spherical cylinders of the displacement supply system), control system instruments (brown and sea-green).

The upper bottom of the first stage is 15A18M. On the right is the undocked second stage, one of the steering engine nozzles is visible.

The fourth generation missile system R-36M2 "Voevoda" (GRAU index - 15P018M, START code - RS-20V, according to the US and NATO classification - SS-18 Mod.5/Mod.6) with a multi-purpose heavy-class intercontinental missile 15A18M is intended for hitting all types of targets protected by modern missile defense systems in any conditions combat use, including with repeated nuclear impacts in a positional area. Its use makes it possible to implement a strategy of a guaranteed retaliatory strike.

As a result of the use of the latest technical solutions, the energy capabilities of the 15A18M rocket have been increased by 12% compared to the 15A18 rocket. At the same time, all conditions for restrictions on dimensions and starting weight imposed by the SALT-2 agreement are met. Missiles of this type are the most powerful of all intercontinental missiles. In terms of technological level, the complex has no analogues in the world. Used in a missile system active protection silo launcher from nuclear warheads and high-precision non-nuclear weapons, and for the first time in the country, low-altitude non-nuclear interception of high-speed ballistic targets was carried out.

Compared to the prototype, the new complex managed to achieve improvements in many characteristics:

• increasing accuracy by 1.3 times;
• 3 times increase in battery life;
• reducing the combat readiness time by 2 times.
• increasing the area of ​​the warhead disengagement zone by 2.3 times;
• the use of high-power charges (10 individually guided multiple warheads with a power of 550 to 750 kt each; total throw weight - 8800 kg);
• the possibility of launching from the constant combat readiness mode according to one of the planned target designations, as well as operational retargeting and launching according to any unplanned target designation transmitted from the highest echelon of control;

To ensure high combat effectiveness in particularly difficult combat conditions during the development of the R-36M2 Voevoda complex Special attention focused on the following areas:

• increasing the security and survivability of silos and command posts;
• ensuring the stability of combat control in all conditions of use of the complex;
• increasing the autonomy time of the complex;
• increasing the warranty period;
• ensuring the missile's resistance in flight to the damaging factors of ground-based and high-altitude nuclear explosions;
• expanding operational capabilities to retarget missiles.

One of the main advantages of the new complex is the ability to support missile launches in conditions of a retaliatory strike when exposed to ground-based and high-altitude nuclear explosions. This was achieved by increasing the survivability of the missile in the silo launcher and significantly increasing the resistance of the missile in flight to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. The rocket body has a multifunctional coating, protection of the control system equipment from gamma radiation has been introduced, and performance has been increased by 2 times executive bodies automatic stabilization control system, separation of the head fairing is carried out after passing through the zone of high-altitude blocking nuclear explosions, the engines of the first and second stages of the rocket are boosted in thrust.

As a result, the radius of the missile's damage zone with a blocking nuclear explosion, compared to the 15A18 missile, is reduced by 20 times, resistance to X-ray radiation is increased by 10 times, and resistance to gamma-neutron radiation is increased by 100 times. The missile is resistant to the effects of dust formations and large soil particles present in the cloud during a ground-based nuclear explosion.

For the missile, silos with ultra-high protection from damaging factors of nuclear weapons were built by re-equipping the silos of the 15A14 and 15A18 missile systems. The implemented levels of missile resistance to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion ensure its successful launch after a non-damaging nuclear explosion directly at the launcher and without reducing combat readiness when exposed to an adjacent launcher.

The rocket is made according to a two-stage design with a sequential arrangement of stages. The missile uses similar launch schemes, stage separation, warhead separation, and disengagement of combat equipment elements, which have shown a high level of technical excellence and reliability in the 15A18 missile.

The propulsion system of the first stage of the rocket includes four hinged single-chamber liquid propellant engines with a turbopump fuel supply system and made in a closed circuit.

The second stage propulsion system includes two engines: a sustainer single-chamber RD-0255 with a turbopump supply of fuel components, made in a closed circuit, and a steering RD-0257, a four-chamber, open circuit, previously used on the 15A18 rocket. Engines of all stages operate on liquid high-boiling components of UDMH+AT fuel; the stages are completely ampulized.

The control system is developed on the basis of two high-performance digital control systems (on-board and ground) of a new generation and a high-precision complex of command instruments continuously operating during combat duty.

A new nose fairing has been developed for the rocket, providing reliable protection of the warhead from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. The tactical and technical requirements provided for equipping the missile with four types of warheads:

• two monoblock warheads - with a “heavy” and a “light” warhead;
• MIRV with ten unguided warheads with a capacity of 0.8 Mt;
• Mixed MIRV consisting of six uncontrolled and four controlled warheads with a homing system based on terrain maps.

As part of the combat equipment, highly effective missile defense penetration systems have been created (“heavy” and “light” decoys, dipole reflectors), which are placed in special cassettes, and thermally insulating BB covers are used.

Flight design tests of the R-36M2 complex began at Baikonur in 1986. The first launch on March 21 ended in an emergency: due to an error in the control system, the first stage propulsion system did not start. The missile, emerging from the TPK, immediately fell into the shaft of the mine, its explosion completely destroyed the launcher. There were no human casualties.

The first missile regiment with the R-36M2 ICBM went on combat duty on July 30, 1988. On August 11, 1988, the missile system was put into service. Flight design tests of the new fourth generation intercontinental missile R-36M2 (15A18M - “Voevoda”) with all types of combat equipment were completed in September 1989. As of May 2006, the Strategic Missile Forces included 74 silo launchers with R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 ICBMs, equipped with 10 warheads each.

On December 21, 2006, at 11:20 am Moscow time, a combat training launch of the RS-20V was carried out. According to the head of the information and public relations service of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel Alexander Vovk, missile training units launched from the Orenburg region (Ural region) hit conditional targets with specified accuracy at the Kura training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Pacific Ocean. The first stage fell in the Vagaisky, Vikulovsky and Sorokinsky districts of the Tyumen region. It separated at an altitude of 90 kilometers, the remaining fuel burned as it fell to the ground. The launch took place as part of the Zaryadye development work. The launches gave an affirmative answer to the question about the possibility of operating the R-36M2 complex for 20 years.

On December 24, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. Moscow time, the RS-20V intercontinental ballistic missile (“Voevoda”) was launched, said Colonel Vadim Koval, press secretary of the press service and information department of the Ministry of Defense for the Strategic Missile Forces: “December twenty-four, 2009 At 9.30 Moscow time, the Strategic Missile Forces launched a missile from the position area of ​​the formation stationed in the Orenburg region,” Koval said. According to him, the launch was carried out as part of development work in order to confirm the flight performance characteristics of the RS-20V missile and extend the service life of the Voevoda missile system to 23 years.

I personally sleep peacefully when I know that such weapons protect our peace..............

The comparative assessment was carried out according to the following parameters:

firepower (number of warheads (WB), total power of WB, maximum firing range, accuracy - CEP)
constructive perfection (launch mass of the rocket, overall characteristics, relative density of the rocket - the ratio of the launch mass of the rocket to the volume of the transport and launch container (TPC))
operation (based on a ground-moving missile system (MGRS) or placement in a silo launcher (silo launcher), time of the interregulatory period, possibility of extending the warranty period)

The sum of points for all parameters gave an overall assessment of the compared MDB. It was taken into account that each ICBM taken from the statistical sample, compared with other ICBMs, was evaluated based on the technical requirements of its time.

The variety of ground-based ICBMs is so great that the sample includes only ICBMs that are currently in service and have a range of more than 5,500 km - and only China, Russia and the United States have such (Great Britain and France have abandoned ground-based ICBMs , placing them only on submarines).

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

Based on the number of points scored, the first four places were taken by:

1. Russian ICBM R-36M2 “Voevoda” (15A18M, START code - RS-20V, according to NATO classification - SS-18 Satan (Russian: “Satan”))

Adopted into service, 1988
Fuel - liquid
Number of accelerating stages - 2
Length, m - 34.3
Maximum diameter, m - 3.0
Launch weight, t - 211.4
Start - mortar (for silos)
Throwing weight, kg - 8,800
Flight range, km -11,000 - 16,000
Number of BB, power, ct -10Х550-800
KVO, m - 400 – 500

The most powerful ground-based ICBM is the 15A18M missile of the R-36M2 "Voevoda" complex (designation of the Strategic Missile Forces RS-20V, NATO designation SS-18mod4 "Satan". The R-36M2 complex has no equal in its technological level and combat capabilities.

The 15A18M is capable of carrying platforms with several dozen (from 20 to 36) individually targeted nuclear MIRVs, as well as maneuvering warheads. It is equipped with a missile defense system, which allows one to break through layered missile defense systems using weapons based on new physical principles. R-36M2 are on duty in ultra-protected silo launchers, which are resistant to shock waves at a level of about 50 MPa (500 kg/sq. cm).

The design of the R-36M2 includes the ability to launch directly during a period of massive enemy nuclear impact on a positional area and blocking a positional area with high-altitude nuclear explosions. The missile has the highest resistance among ICBMs to nuclear weapons.

The rocket is covered with a dark heat-protective coating, making it easier to pass through the cloud of a nuclear explosion. It is equipped with a system of sensors that measure neutron and gamma radiation, register dangerous levels and, while the missile passes through the cloud of a nuclear explosion, turn off the control system, which remains stabilized until the missile leaves the danger zone, after which the control system turns on and corrects the trajectory.

A strike from 8-10 15A18M missiles (fully equipped) ensured the destruction of 80% of the industrial potential of the United States and most of the population.

2. US ICBM LGM-118A “Peacekeeper” - MX

Adopted into service, 1986
Fuel - solid
Number of accelerating stages - 3
Length, m - 21.61
Maximum diameter, m - 2.34
Launch weight, t - 88.443
Start - mortar (for silos)
Throwing weight, kg - 3,800
Flight range, km - 9,600
Number of BB, power, ct - 10X300
KVO, m - 90 - 120

The most powerful and advanced American ICBM - the three-stage solid-propellant MX missile - was equipped with ten with a yield of 300 kt each. It had increased resistance to the effects of nuclear weapons and had the ability to overcome the existing missile defense system, limited by an international treaty.

The MX had the greatest capabilities among ICBMs in terms of accuracy and ability to hit a heavily protected target. At the same time, the MXs themselves were based only in the improved silo launchers of the Minuteman ICBMs, which were inferior in security to the Russian silo launchers. According to American experts, the MX was 6-8 times superior in combat capabilities to the Minuteman-3.

A total of 50 MX missiles were deployed, which were on alert in a state of 30-second readiness for launch. Removed from service in 2005, the missiles and all equipment of the position area are being preserved. Options for using MX to launch high-precision non-nuclear strikes are being considered.

3. Russian ICBM PC-24 "Yars" - Russian solid-fuel mobile-based intercontinental ballistic missile with a multiple warhead

Adopted for service, 2009
Fuel - solid
Number of accelerating stages - 3
Length, m - 22.0
Maximum diameter, m - 1.58
Launch weight, t - 47.1
Start - mortar
Throwing weight, kg - 1,200
Flight range, km - 11,000
Number of BB, power, ct - 4X300
KVO, m – 150

Structurally, the RS-24 is similar to the Topol-M and has three stages. Differs from RS-12M2 "Topol-M":
new platform for breeding blocks with warheads
re-equipment of some part of the missile control system
increased payload

The missile enters service in a factory transport and launch container (TPC), in which it spends its entire service. The body of the missile product is coated with special compounds to reduce the effects of a nuclear explosion. Probably, an additional composition was applied using stealth technology.

The guidance and control system (GCS) is an autonomous inertial control system with an on-board digital computer (OND), probably using astrocorrection. The proposed developer of the control system is the Moscow Research and Production Center for Instrumentation and Automation.

The use of the active trajectory section has been reduced. To improve the speed characteristics at the end of the third stage, it is possible to use a turn with a direction of zero increment of distance until the last stage's fuel reserve is fully exhausted.

The instrumentation compartment is completely sealed. The rocket is capable of overcoming the cloud of a nuclear explosion at launch and performing a program maneuver. For testing, the rocket will most likely be equipped with a telemetry system - the T-737 Triad receiver and indicator.

To counter missile defense systems, the missile is equipped with a countermeasures system. From November 2005 to December 2010, tests of anti-missile defense systems were carried out using Topol and K65M-R missiles.

4. Russian ICBM UR-100N UTTH (GRAU index - 15A35, START code - RS-18B, according to NATO classification - SS-19 Stiletto (English “Stiletto”))

Adopted into service, 1979
Fuel - liquid
Number of accelerating stages - 2
Length, m - 24.3
Maximum diameter, m - 2.5
Launch weight, t - 105.6
Start - gas-dynamic
Throwing weight, kg - 4,350
Flight range, km - 10,000
Number of BB, power, ct - 6Х550
KVO, m - 380

The 15A35 ICBM is a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, made according to the “tandem” design with a sequential separation of stages. The rocket is distinguished by a very dense layout and virtually no “dry” compartments. According to official data, as of July 2009, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces had 70 deployed 15A35 ICBMs.

The last division was previously in the process of liquidation, but by decision of the President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev in November 2008, the liquidation process was terminated. The division will continue to be on duty with the 15A35 ICBM until it is re-equipped with “new missile systems” (apparently either Topol-M or RS-24).

Apparently, in the near future, the number of 15A35 missiles on combat duty will be further reduced until it stabilizes at a level of about 20-30 units, taking into account purchased missiles. The UR-100N UTTH missile system is extremely reliable - 165 test and combat training launches were carried out, of which only three were unsuccessful.

The American magazine of the Air Force Rocketry Association called the UR-100N UTTH missile “one of the most outstanding technical developments of the Cold War.” The first complex, still with UR-100N missiles, was put on combat duty in 1975 with a warranty period of 10 years. During its creation, all the best design solutions worked out on previous generations of "hundreds" were implemented.

The high reliability indicators of the missile and the complex as a whole, then achieved during the operation of the improved complex with the UR-100N UTTH ICBM, allowed the military-political leadership of the country to set before the RF Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, the command of the Strategic Missile Forces and the lead developer represented by NPO Mashinostroeniya the task of gradually extending the service life of the complex with 10 to 15, then to 20, 25 and finally to 30 and beyond.