Russia Completes Ground Tests of Sarmat ICBM

Roscosmos space agency’s top boss has revealed that Russia’s Sarmat advanced silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) completed ground trials.

"In fact, we are completing ground trials of all systems. Never before Russia created an ICBM of this kind," director general of Russia’s state-run Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, told Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Saturday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said last week that flight trials of Sarmat ICBM will start this year and finish in 2022.

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces are expected to start receiving Sarmat missiles next year.

Sarmat is to replace R-36M2 Voevoda missiles, which have been the most powerful in the world and operational since 1970s. Sarmat considerably exceeds the predecessor. Some of its characteristics were disclosed at Army-2019 forum. The new missile weighs 208.1 tons, the payload is close to 10 tons and the fuel is 178 tons. The range of Sarmat is 18,000km, as per Russian state media.

It can fly by unpredictable routes and bypass missile defense areas. It can fly over the North and South Pole and approach targets from directions that are not envisaged for interception. Sarmat can carry a line of reentry vehicles, including hypersonic Avangard gliders.

In contrast to Yars and Topol-M ICBMs, Sarmat uses liquid fuel. The higher power allows carrying more warheads, dummy targets, jammers and other tools to break through missile defenses.

So far, Sarmat trials are going in Plesetsk and are limited by pop-up tests to check pre-launch preparations and how the missile leaves the silo. A small charge pops up a mockup to a height of several dozen meters.