| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Scalpel, RS-22, RT-23U, Molodets |
| Class: |
ICBM |
| Basing: |
Silo based (Mod 1); Rail mobile (Mod 2) |
| Length: |
22.40 m |
| Diameter: |
2.40 m |
| Launch Weight: |
104500 kg |
| Payload: |
10 MIRV warheads |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear 550 kT |
| Propulsion: |
3-stage solid |
| Range: |
10000 km |
| Status: |
Terminated |
| In Service: |
1987 (rail), 1989 (silo) |
Details
Russian Designation: RS-22, RT-23U, Molodets
The SS-24 is an intercontinental-range, rail/silo-based, solid propellant ballistic missile. It represents the first of the fifth generation of Russian missile systems and is markedly different than past ICBM designs such as the SS-18 and SS-19 systems. The missile is among the few rail/silo-based weapons that can be cold-launched out of a canister. This greatly enhances the safety and reliability of the design.
The SS-24 is an intercontinental-range strategic missile system. It has sufficient range to threaten the continental United States, as well as all of Asia and Europe. It carries Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) warheads which enable the missile to destroy multiple targets, dramatically increasing its destructive power over single warhead systems. The accuracy and yield of the SS-24 warhead made it theoretically capable of destroying hardened targets, though the destruction of the target was far from guaranteed. However, air and military bases would be completely unable of surviving such a strike. By being deployed from hardened silos, the SS-24 can survive most nuclear strikes, and the little weakness that has developed due to improvements in counterforce weaponry is compensated for by the railcar-based version. A SS-24 stored in a railcar is extremely difficult to locate, and even more difficult to destroy. The system was designed to be available for launch under any circumstances and to be capable of inflicting large damage upon a civilian population.
The SS-24 system can reportedly strike anything between a range of 2,500 km and 10,000 km (1,553 and 6,214 miles). It carries a payload of 4,050 kg which carried ten MIRV warheads, each with a 550 kT nuclear yield. It uses a computer-controlled inertial guidance system during flight and on the Post-Boost Vehicle (PBV). This provides the system with an accuracy of some 500 m CEP. It uses a three-stage solid propellant engine and almost certainly carries decoy warheads.
There are actually two versions of the SS-24, though the differences between the systems are extremely minor. The Mod 1 silo-based version has a length of 22.4 m while the Mod 2 railcar version had a length of some 22.3 m. The Mod 2 version has a larger launcher assembly in the tail, additional hot gas control for the first-stage and a modified guidance and control system interface. Both versions had a diameter of 2.4 m and a launch weight of 104,500 kg.
The development of the SS-24 began in 1971, with the first flight test reportedly occurring in October 1982. The first successful launch of the system carrying eight reentry vehicles occurred in November 1983. The first test launch of the SS-24 from a railcar occurred in 1985, with the first silo launch occurring one year later. The railcar version of the missile entered service in 1987, with the silo-based version entering deployment in 1989. In 1991, there were reportedly 56 silo-based and 33 railcar systems mostly based in the Ukraine, as the SS-24 was designed and built there. The silo-based SS-24 missiles are believed to have been taken out of service in 2002 to make room for SS-27 Topol-M systems. In 2004 it was announced that the SS-24s would be removed from service by 2005. The last missile was removed from operational status in August 2005.
In 1990, Russia announced that there would not be continued production after 1991, and only three new missiles were built. All SS-24 missiles in the Ukraine were reported as destroyed by December of 2001, but these reports remain unconfirmed.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 577-578.
Possible Tochka-U Missile Test
September 15, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
The Interfax-Military News Agency reported on September 14 that a test of the SS-21 Tochka-U ballistic missile was expected as the conclusion of a Russian military exercise at the Luzhskiy artillery firing range in the Leningrad Region. Interfax quoted Major-General Mikhail Akulov, commander of the Leningrad Military District’s missile and artillery forces, as saying that the launch was soon expected.
“The brigade headed by Col Aleksandr Fateyev is taking up marches in columns, changes of firing positions and some other training missions in the course of the exercise, which is going to end with the launch of a Tochka-U tactical missile. Representatives of a state-owned firing range present will assess the readiness of the brigade,” he said.
He pointed out that the brigade had already launched the same type of missile during the tactical exercise at the state-owned firing range in the Volga region. …
The SV 9K79-1 Tochka-U missile system is designed to effectively kill critical targets in enemy’s tactical depth. The solid-propellant single-stage missile with cluster or high-explosive/fragmentation warhead weighs 2,010 kg, and has a range of 120 km.
Update: September 20, 2005:If the tests of the Tochka-U missiles took place, they seem to have not been reported in any publicly available media. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-24, SS-25
Russia Tests Tochka-U in Siberia
March 7, 2005 :: Itar-Tass :: News
The Russian military successfully carried out a test launch of the short range Tochka-U (SS-21) ballistic missile on March 5, in the Siberian Military District, as part of a military exercise, reports press spokesman Colonel Valeriy Shcheblanin, reports Itar Tass. The missile is said to have hit its target “with utmost precision.”
Tochka-U, which is offered for export, is a version of the SS-21 (“Scarab B”) missile with a composite fuel, and an extended range of 120 km. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-24, SS-25
Status of Russian Strategic Forces
October 20, 2004 :: News
Pavel Podvig, editor of Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces, reports that exchange data under the START Treaty was released earlier this month, updating the number and type of Russia’s deployed ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. Currently, Russia is said to have some 874 “delivery platforms,” fielding some 3885 large, strategic, nuclear warheads.
Some 315 SS-25 (Topol) road-mobile missiles are now deployed, though their numbers will be diminishing. Some 15 SS-24 rail-mobile missiles are said to have been decommissioned in the past year, as well as a few “heavy” SS-18s.
While the older missiles are phased out, newer ones replace them. Most importantly the new and advanced SS-27 (Topol-M) missiles continue to be deployed in silos. Four SS-27s are expected to be deployed in December 2004, and an additional ten in 2005-2006. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-18 Mod 4, SS-24, SS-25, SS-27
