"Wonder Weapon" of President Putin
Allegedly, the Ch-47M2 combat guided missile was suspended on the beam of the MiG-A-31BM chassis.
When in 2002 the United States withdrew from the bilateral treaty signed in 1972, which limited anti-missile systems in quantitative and qualitative terms, Russia sharply criticized this decision. She pointed to the fundamental importance of missile defense in maintaining the strategic balance. Indeed, an uncontrolled build-up of an anti-missile capability may lead its owner to the more or less justified conclusion that a nuclear war can be won by intercepting most of the enemy's ballistic missile warheads launched as part of a retaliatory strike. When the inevitability of nuclear retribution ceases to be obvious, the nuclear balance that has been maintained for almost 70 years will cease to exist.
The Russian authorities announced that the United States would take two actions in response to the decision: resume work on anti-missile systems, and take steps to "immunize" its weapons against missile defenses. missile systems.
Over the next few years, information about the expansion of Russia's anti-missile capabilities appeared quite systematically: production of the S-300W systems resumed, limited anti-missile capabilities were given to the S-300P and S-400 systems, it was announced that the S-500 system would not only have significant anti-missile, but also anti-satellite capabilities.
There was less information about the second group of reported actions. The program for the creation of new ballistic missiles launched from 3M30 Bulava submarines was implemented without difficulty, ground-based missiles 15X55 / 65 Topol-M were improved and their significantly improved development options 15X55M Yars and 15X67 Yars-M were implemented , but none of these programs, except for the Advanced Detection and Tracking Mixing Equipment used by the enemy, has brought a new quality to the field of penetrating missile defenses.
Quite unexpectedly, on March 1 this year. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, in his speech to the Federal Assembly, announced a number of new weapon designs that were developed in response to American decisions and actions in recent years. It made a splash in the world and caused numerous comments both of a political nature (which means such an unexpected presentation) and of a technical nature.
Rocket RS-28 Sarmat
The launch of a new heavy ballistic missile with an intercontinental range was announced some time ago. They were delayed several times, probably due to the lack of development of the rocket. This is the work of the National Missile Center (GRC) Makeev from Miass, who has made great strides in creating liquid-fueled ballistic missiles for submarines. The fact that the Russian authorities did not make a decision to develop a heavy solid-fuel rocket is a serious mistake by the design bureau of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering (MIT). With great difficulty, he fulfilled his promise to build a ship-based missile with such a power plant, which was supposed to be “almost completely” unified with the land-based Topol-M. "Sarmat" should replace the world's heaviest ballistic missiles 15A18M R-36M2 "Voevoda" - the work of the famous Yuzhnoye Design Bureau from Dnepropetrovsk. This bureau was engaged in the design of the successor to the R-36M family, but after the collapse of the USSR, it ended up in Ukraine, and although work continued, funding from the Russian Ministry of Defense was insufficient, and over time it was completely stopped.
The initial concept of the new missile, which later received the designation RS-28 (15A28), was ready back in 2005. For her, Avangard OJSC developed a composite transport and launch container. It is located in the shaft of the launcher with the conveyor 15T526 developed by KB Motor. The engines of the first stage are probably a modernization of the RD-274 engines produced for the R-36M2, the engines of the second stage were developed at the Design Bureau of Chemical Automation (KBChA). Engines "Product 99" are also produced by the company "Perm Motors" for Sarmat. The missiles will be produced jointly with the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant (Krasmash) and the GRC im. Makeev. The rocket with PAD (powder pressure accumulator) has a length of about 32 m and a diameter of 3 m. Its mass should be more than 200 tons, and the payload should be from 5 to 10 tons. The system has the designation 15P228. Its distinguishing feature will be a record-breaking short active part of the trajectory, i.e. engine running time.
The first test launch of the Sarmat took place on December 27, 2017 at the training ground in Plezik. It is interesting that after the operation of the PAD, which ejected the rocket from the mine, the first stage engines were activated. Usually this is not done on the first try. Either the first, less effective PAD test was performed earlier, or you risked skipping this testing step. Apparently, at the beginning of 2017, Krasmash, acting under a contract signed in 2011, manufactured the first three missiles, which means that further tests should take place soon. On the other hand, the adoption of the missile into service in 2019 seems unlikely. Also, the information about the beginning of adaptation work at the positions of divisions in Uzhzha and Dombarovskoye is not true.
The Sarmat is to be deployed in the mines currently occupied by the R-36M2, but its performance—both payload and range—should be much higher. He will be able, among other things, to attack any target on the globe from any direction. For example, targets in the United States can be hit by flying not over the North, but over the South Pole. This is not a breakthrough in missile defense, but it clearly complicates the task, since it will be necessary to ensure round-the-clock detection of targets and significantly increase the number of anti-missile launch sites.
Avanhard
A few years ago, information was confirmed about the testing of new warheads for strategic missiles, which can enter the atmosphere much earlier than usual and move towards the target along a flat trajectory, while maneuvering along the course and altitude. This solution has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it is difficult for an adversary to intercept such a warhead. The process is as follows: the detected target is tracked with maximum accuracy, and based on these readings, ultra-fast computers calculate the target's flight path, predict its further course, and program the anti-missiles so that their trajectory intersects with the predicted flight path. warheads. The later the target is detected, the less time remains for this calculation and the launch of the anti-missile. However, if the target changes its trajectory, it is impossible to predict its further section and it is impossible to send a counter-missile towards it. Of course, the closer to the target of the attack, the easier it is to predict such a trajectory, but this means a possible hit by a ballistic missile in the immediate vicinity of the protected object, and this is associated with a huge risk.
