| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Sego, RS-10 |
| Class: |
ICBM |
| Basing: |
Silo based |
| Length: |
16.97 m |
| Diameter: |
2.00 m |
| Launch Weight: |
42300 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear, 500 kT or 1.1 MT (Mod 1); 1.3 MT (Mod 2) |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage liquid |
| Range: |
12000 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1965-1994 |
Details
Russian Designation: RS-10
The SS-11 was an intercontinental-range, surface-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile. It was designed as a light ICBM which eventually became the core of the Russian nuclear arsenal. Designed to be smaller, the missile compensated for a significantly lower yield by allowing the missiles to be launched from canisters, greatly increasing the number of missiles that could be launched from a single silo. It was also considerably less expensive than other missiles, both in the cost of the missile and the cost of the launch silo, allowing for a far greater number of missiles to be deployed. It used an inertial guidance system.
The SS-11 was built to ensure that no attack against the Russian ICBM force could be completely successful and would guarantee a sufficiently large counterattack. This also gave them the ability to overwhelm any missile defenses deployed by the United States. However, the relatively low yield and accuracy of its nuclear warhead prevented it from being used against US missile silos and could only destroy soft targets such as cities. Advances in launch technology allowed the missiles to be launched in only a few minutes, increasing its effectiveness for a rapid pre-emptive or counter strike.
There were three major versions of the SS-11, though Russians sources report the Mod 1 could have been used at a shorter-range while equipped with a larger yield nuclear warhead. The Mod 2 and Mod 3 were basically upgraded versions of the Mod 1 and quickly replaced it. The Mod 3 carried three Multiple Reentry Vehicles (MRVs) which saturated a target area with warheads, increasing the blast radius and overwhelmed any local missile defenses.(1)
The SS-11 Mod 1 and 2 used a two-stage liquid propellant engine and could deploy a payload of a single warhead up to a range of 12,000 km (7,456 miles). The Mod 1 had a launch weight of 42,300 kg and carried a warhead with either a 500 kT or a 1.1 MT yield. The Mod 2 had an increased weight of 50,100 kg in return for higher accuracy and a 1.3 MT yield. The Mod 1 and 2 had a respective accuracy limitation of 1,400 m CEP and 1,000 m CEP, as well being 2.0 m in diameter and 16.97 m in length.
The SS-11 started development in 1963 and began flight testing in 1965. The SS-11 Mod 1 entered service in the Soviet Union in 1965 and the Mod 2 in 1972. By the 1974, the 1,030 deployed SS-11s were all Mod 2 or Mod 3. By 1981, that number was cut back to around 500 to make room for the newer SS-17 and SS-19 missiles. The number was reduced to 326 missiles to increase the number of SS-25s allowed by the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). By July 1994, all SS-11 and compatible launch facilities were reported dismantled.(2)
Footnotes
- Pavel Podvig, ed., Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001).
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 570-571.
