| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Spanker, RS-16 |
| Class: |
ICBM |
| Basing: |
Silo based |
| Length: |
20.90 m |
| Diameter: |
2.25 m |
| Launch Weight: |
72000 kg |
| Payload: |
4 MIRV, 2550 kg |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear, 500 to 750 kT |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage liquid |
| Range: |
11000 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1980-1996 |
Details
Russian Designation: RS-16
The SS-17 was an intercontinental-range, silo-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile. The missile was planned to replace the SS-11 and to be deployed in converted and hardened SS-11 silos. This was the first Soviet system that had independent targeting for the multiple reentry vehicles and achieved true Multiple-Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) status. The SS-17 needed the cold-launch system due to its limited volume, requiring it to be launched before complete ignition. It used a purely inertial guidance and carried 4 MIRVs equipped with penetration aids to increase the missile’s effectiveness against US silos. Two different versions were created, the Mod 1 and the Mod 2.
MIRV technology enabled the SS-17 to accurately strike multiple targets in a large area, distributing its payload among multiple targets. This system greatly increases a missile’s effectiveness against military targets where accuracy matters far more than the size of the payload. The use of the Post-Boost Vehicle, required for MIRV systems, gave the SS-17 MIRVs a high degree of accuracy compared to older systems. This significantly increased the effectiveness of a Russian pre-emptive strike, as a single missile could be used to eliminate a number of missile silos.
The application of MIRV technology and penetration aids resulted in the SS-17 being a highly effective pre-emptive strike weapon. It could deploy several medium yield nuclear warheads against a number of silos in an area and was accurate enough to have a change at damaging the missiles. With the numbers and the penetration aids, existing anti-missile defenses would have been overwhelmed. It was also highly effective against cities, able to effectively strike multiple cities or targets with a single missile.
The SS-17 Mod 2 was developed to provide increased accuracy, range and nuclear yield over the original Mod 1. It had a maximum range of 11,000 km (6,835 miles) and carried a payload of 2,550 kg. It deployed 4 MIRVs with a variable nuclear yield between 500 and 750 kT that were accurate to within 300 m CEP. It had a launch weight of 72,00 kg. The missile used a two-stage liquid propellant and was 20.9 m long with a width of 2.25 m.
The SS-17 development reportedly began in 1970, with the first flight tests taking place in 1972. The SS-17 Mod 1 missiles were deployed in the Soviet Union in 1975, initially within converted SS-11 silos. The Mod 2 was deployed five years later and by 1991, only MIRVed Mod 2 SS-17s remained operational. In December 1994, only 11 SS-17 Mod 2 missiles remained and by July 1996 all the missiles and silos had been destroyed.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 574-575.
