Image taken from a video shows a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is test-launched by the Russian military at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region, Russia, April 20, 2022. /Reuters
Russia said it planned to deploy its newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), capable of carrying several hypersonic weapons, by autumn.
Colonel General Sergei Karakayev, the commander of the Russian military's Strategic Missile Forces, said in televised remarks on Sunday that the new Sarmat ICBM is designed to carry several Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the Sarmat was test-fired for the first time, on Wednesday, from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia and its practice warheads have successfully reached mock targets on the Kura firing range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys. The launch of this "super-weapon" was a historic event that would guarantee the security of Russia's children and grandchildren for the next 30-40 years, said Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the Sarmat launch as a major achievement, claiming that the new missile has no foreign equivalent and is capable of penetrating any prospective missile defense.
"This really unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia's security from external threats and make those, who in the heat of frantic aggressive rhetoric try to threaten our country, think twice," Putin said on Wednesday.
'Super-weapon' Sarmat
The Sarmat is a heavy missile that has been under development for several years to replace the Soviet-made Voyevoda, which forms the core of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
The military has said that the Avangard is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers on its way to the target to dodge the enemy's missile shield.
In anticipation of the deployment of the Sarmat, the new hypersonic vehicle has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built ICBMs, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.
The director and the designer-in-chief of the Makeyev missile-maker that developed the Sarmat, Vladimir Degtyar, said in televised remarks that its range allows it to fly along any trajectory across north or south poles to hit any target around the world.
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(With input from Reuters, AP)