Russia’s Defence Ministry announced the
Sarmat “was successfully test-launched from a silo at the Plesetsk state
testing cosmodrome” in northwestern Russia. The test “confirmed” the missile’s
“design characteristics” during “all phases of its flight,” the ministry
declared, adding that its “practice warheads arrived at the designated area at
the Kura proving ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula.”
Although Russia has conducted three Sarmat ejection tests since December 2017, this latest test was the missile’s first flight test.The Sarmat is a three-stage, silo-based, liquid-fuel, heavy ICBM with a reported range of 18,000+ kilometers. Dubbed “Satan II” by NATO, the missile is a Russian-built replacement of the Soviet-era SS-18 “Satan” ICBM, which is reaching the end of its life cycle.
The Sarmat reportedly can carry a 10-ton payload consisting of 10-plus multiple independent reentry vehicles along with penetration aids used to evade missile defenses. Moscow says the new missile can also carry several Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles.The Sarmat has reportedly been under development since the 2000s but gained notoriety after being publicly touted during a March 2018 address by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader boosted that the Sarmat would be impervious to existing or potential missile defenses thanks to its short boost phase and extremely long range, which would allow the missile to travel over the North or South poles. Moscow claims serial production of the Sarmat will commence this fall, and that the missile will begin combat duty with Russia’s 62nd Missile Division in Uzhur, Krasnoyarsk Krai, before year’s end.
U.S. Modernizing the ICBM force:
Asked about the Minuteman III test
during a March hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Adm. Charles
Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, recommended “that we maintain our
normal set of operations.” Richard emphasized he needs these tests to “maintain
confidence and reliability” in the 50-year-old Minuteman III, which nears the
end of its service life.
underscores the need to modernize America’s own nuclear triad, including by urgently replacing the Minuteman III with the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, otherwise known as the LGM-35A Sentinel.The Sentinel is to succeed the 5-decade-old Minuteman III beginning in 2029, and it would represent a major upgrade and a costly one, at $100 billion to the ICBM portion of the U.S. nuclear triad.
The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program is necessary to modernize the ICBM force and maintain an effective deterrent to China and Russia.The Air Force said the LGM-35A Sentinel will use a modular architecture that can be easily upgraded with new, emerging technologies to meet evolving threats, and will be easier to maintain than the Minuteman. This will save money and keep the Sentinel relevant well into the 2070s and beyond.
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