The Russian military on Wednesday announced the first successful test fire of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new-generation ultra-long-range weapon labeled “unrivaled” by President Vladimir Putin.
Capable of being equipped with several nuclear or conventional warheads that each follow an independent trajectory as they enter the atmosphere, it was first tested and fired in a region of northwestern Russia on Wednesday, April 20. The missile is said to have hit its target in the Far East of Russia, 5,000 kilometers from the launch pad.
†It is truly a unique weapon that will enhance the military potential of our armed forces, protect Russia from outside threats and will make those who try to threaten our country with unbridled and aggressive rhetoric think twice.said Vladimir Putin.
This weapon is part of a series of other missiles presented as “invisible” by Vladimir Putin in 2018. These include the Kinjal and Avangard hypersonic missiles.
In March, Moscow claimed to have used the Kinjal against targets in Ukraine for the first time.
The RS-28 Sarmat is a new generation weapon. A very long-range thermonuclear missile, the fifth of its generation, which, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, would have no equivalent.
ud83cuddf7ud83cuddfaA test launch of the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM took place today at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia ud83cuddf7ud83cuddfa pic.twitter.com/xk7pinaT1y
— Liliane Pralong (@LiliPralong) Apr 20, 2022
The test program for this new missile will therefore continue before it is integrated into the Russian strategic forces.
Weighing more than 200 tons, the Sarmat should outperform its predecessor – the Voevoda rocket with a range of 11,000 km. In 2019, Vladimir Putin assured that the Sarmat had “virtually no limits in terms of range” and that it could “target both targets crossing the North Pole and the South Pole”.
A test of “routine”, “no threat”
For its part, the Pentagon assured that the Russian shooting was a “routine” test and did not pose a “threat” to the United States or its allies. Moscow has “duly informed Washington” about conducting the test, in accordance with its obligations under the nuclear treaties, and it was therefore no “surprise” to the US Department of Defense, its spokesman John Kirby added.
