Article Posted on : - Apr 13, 2011

The RS 20 Voyevoda intercontinental ballistic missile. A file photo

MOSCOW (BNS): Russia will arm its defence forces with a new silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system by 2018, a senior defence official has said.

The liquid propelled megaton-class ICBM, that will repalce the RS-20 Voyevoda (NATO codename SS-18 Satan), will be a “product of deep modernization” of the Voyevoda missile, Colonel-General Viktor Yesin, an adviser to the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.

“It will have a smaller mass, but alongside that it will carry all the necessary means of breaking the existing and any prospective missile defence, including the full set of heavy and other false warheads and decoys for ensuring the delivery of real warheads to targets,” the official said.

The combat equipment will be roughly the same – megaton-class multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs) with individually guided warheads, General Yesin, a former chief of staff of the Strategic Missile Force, said.

The RS-20 Voyevoda missile has a maximum range of 11,000 kilometers and has the ability to carry 10 nuclear warheads.

General Yesin said the new long-range missile will have increased survivability over its predecessor. The weapon's launcher will have a highly fortified protection mechanism along with other measures of passive and active defence.

“The adoption of this complex of measures will enhance the survivability of our new heavy silo-based missiles and will force a potential adversary to spend significantly more of its nuclear warheads and precision weapons capable of putting them out of order.

“But even that would not serve as a guarantee of destroying the entire group of new Russian heavy missiles, part of which will still be able to survive and strike back,” said General Yesin.

He said that the Defence Ministry must approve of the tactical and technical requirements of the new heavy ICBM before the end of this year.

“The conceptual design of a new ICBM is already defined. Experience shows that development work on a new missile lasts 6-8 years. Thus, we can expect that after the testing the new heavy liquid propellant rocket will enter duty by the end of 2018,” said Yesin.