| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Serb, R-27 |
| Class: |
SLBM |
| Basing: |
Submarine launched |
| Length: |
9.00 m |
| Diameter: |
1.50 m |
| Launch Weight: |
14200 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead (Mod 1 and 2); 3 MRV (Mod 3) |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear 1 MT (Mod 1 and 2); 3 at 200 kT (Mod 3). |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage liquid |
| Range: |
Mod 1 - 2500 km, Mod 2/3 - 3000 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1968-1996 |
Details
Russian Designation: R-27
The SS-N-6 was an intermediate-range, submarine-launched, liquid propellant ballistic missile. It represented a considerable leap forward in the Soviet Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), incorporating a second-stage engine, vastly superior range and accuracy, and Multiple Re-entry Vehicles (MRV). It used storable liquid propellants with a pre-launch time of roughly 10 minutes and a missile that could be launched from a submarine with an interval of 8 seconds between launches. It used an inertial guidance system.
There were three major versions of the SS-N-6, with a fourth version designed for attacking ship surveillance radars was cancelled during the design phase. Like all SLBMs, the purpose of the SS-N-6 was to place hidden nuclear missiles within close range of their targets while maintaining secrecy. The SS-N-6 was designed to destroy strategic land targets, but with its relatively limited (but still greatly improved) accuracy it could only really engage cities and other soft targets. The longer range enabled the submarine to strike US targets from well outside the range of anti-submarine defenses, even as far as some Russian territorial waters. It provided an effective pre-emptive and reprisal nuclear force.
The SS-N-6 had a launch weight of 14,200 and carried a payload of 650 kg. It was 9.0 m long and 1.5 m wide. The Mod 1 and 2 were equipped with single nuclear warheads with 1 MT yields. The Mod 3 could deploy three 200 kT MRV warheads against a target area. The Mod 1 had a range of 2,500 km and an accuracy limitation of 1,900 m CEP. The Mod 2 and 3 used a superior design that increases the range to 3,000 km (1,864 miles) and the accuracy to 1,300 m CEP. The SS-N-6 used a two-stage liquid propellant engine according to some accounts, a single stage by others.
The SS-N-6 began development in 1962 with flight tests beginning in 1966. The SS-N-6 Mod 1 entered service in the Soviet Union in 1968, with the Mod 2 and 3 entering in 1974. A total of 600 missiles were built and at the peak SS-N-6 missiles were carried on 34 boats. The SS-N-6 missiles were deployed on ‘Yankee 1’ submarines. This had been reduced to 12 boats and 192 missiles by 1991, and two boats and 32 missiles by December 1994. The last SS-N-6 compatible submarine was decommissioned in 1996.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 583.
Russia Claims Missiles Can Still Reach US, Despite Defenses
April 5, 2006 :: BBC Worldwide Monitoring :: News
A prominent Russian general has claimed that the U.S. will not be able to intercept Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles until 2020, reports Interfax. Colonel-General Viktor Yesin, a former chief of staff of the Russian Strategic Missile Troops, recently stated that new strategic missile systems such as the Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM and the Bulava (SS-NX-30) SLBM feature “such design solutions as to make U.S. missile defense systems useless.” Yesin, however, noted that U.S. defenses would have a considerable impact on Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces if they were modified and deployed near Russian borders. “In this event Russia will have to take additional measures aimed at countering missile defense measures to maintain its nuclear potential,” Yesin said. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Russian START Data: 771 Delivery Systems, 3319 Nuclear Warheads
April 4, 2006 :: News
Russia currently has 771 strategic delivery systems that can carry up to 3,319 nuclear warheads, according to data from the START Treaty Memorandum of Understanding taken on January 1, 2006. The data shows that Russia continues to decommission old strategic systems, which developing new ones. Russia has completely withdrawn its rail mobile SS-24 missiles, and continues to decommission its SS-25 missiles. At the same time, the Strategic Missile Troops are preparing to deploy the mobile version of the Topol-M (SS-27) later this year. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6
Commentary on Russian Claims
February 15, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: Analysis
RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov writes that the U.S. ballistic missile defense system will become operational within years, thus providing a “credible capability,” but adds that “Russia has missiles that don’t care.” He continues with a description of the anti-BMD capabilities of the road-mobile Topol-M (SS-27) intercontinental ballistic missile:
While the U.S. is stepping up its effort to deploy early warning radars and interceptors as close to Russia’s borders as possible to detect missile launches and kill missiles at the boost stage of flight when they are the most vulnerable—and as long as the body and the warhead are still in one piece—the Topol-M, powered by three solid-propellant boosters, accelerates faster than earlier ICBMs and is accordingly less vulnerable to that kind of attack. The missile also has scores of auxiliary jets and a state-of-the-art flight control system that enables a 3D avoidance maneuver capability from the first seconds of flight.
And on top of everything else—in every sense—is the nuclear re-entry vehicle, in fact a ramjet-boosted supersonic cruise missile whose additional sustainer engine accelerates it to between Mach 4 and Mach 5 (Mach is the speed equal to the speed of sound in the air).
Such maneuverability renders a missile system a crucial surprise advantage, as the adversary cannot launch a fire-and-forget interceptor weapon because no anticipated point of contact is known or can be reliably calculated. Normally, the Topol-M carries one warhead but, unlike other strategic ICBMs, it can be easily upgraded with an advanced warhead carrying up to three independently targetable re-entry vehicles. The warhead fires off the vehicles in midcourse, changing direction twice a minute to fool warning radars as to where the charges are heading. Each vehicle is assigned an individual target at up to 100km (60 miles) from the separation point.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: Analysis, Maneuverable Warheads, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6
RIA-Novosti Column on Putin Boasts
February 6, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Viktor Litovkin, military commentator for RIA Novosti, argues that Russia’s newest missiles are “indeed unrivalled” and that President Vladimir Putin was correct in his recent boast that these weapons can penetrate any existing missile defense system. Litovkin contends that the SS-27 (Topol-M) ICBM and the SS-NX-30 (Bulava) SLBM pick up speed so fast upon launch that early warning systems monitoring the Earth’s surface from space do not have enough time to take appropriate countermeasures. He adds that these weapons are not “strictly ballistic” in their trajectories. They begin the midcourse phase ballistically, but can dive unexpectedly or maneuver to avoid destruction. In the terminal phase, both accelerate to hypersonic speeds that are beyond the limits of all operational and most future anti-missile defenses.
Litovkin vigorously defends Putin’s decision to boast about Russia’s missile capabilities: “A man who governs a state with such a deterrent capability has reasons to be proud of it.” He takes issue with “the perception of this praise as muscle-flexing or saber-rattling, let alone drum-banging.” According to Litovkin, the Topol-M and the Bulava “have no particular targets and pose no threat to anyone.” Moreover, “Russia has never drawn its nuclear sword—and most likely never will—in a power game.” He adds that the continuous development and upgrade effort of the Strategic Missile Troops “in no way amounts to an arms race,” as Russia’s overall ballistic missile capability is being reduced. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Putin Again Boasts Missiles Can Pierce Defenses
February 1, 2006 :: News
Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted on Tuesday January 31 that Russia has ballistic missiles capable of penetrating any missile defense system. At a news conference, Putin said,
Russia last year tested missile systems that no one in the world has and won’t have for a long time. These missile systems don’t represent a response to a missile defense system, but they are immune to that. They are hypersonic and capable of changing their flight path.
Putin recently discussed the same “hypersonic” systems at a similar format of a press conference in September 2005, noting their ability to maneuver in course and altitude and evade ballistic missile defense such as those being developed by “partner countries,” a probable reference to the ground-based mid-course defenses being deployed by the United States. (Article, Link)
» Sep. 27, 2005: Putin on Hypersonic Maneuverable Warheads
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Russian General on Topol-M Regiment Status
January 27, 2006 :: Interfax :: News
Colonel-General Aleksandr Belousov, Russia’s first deputy minister of defense, recently inspected the rearmament of the Teykovo Missile Division in the Ivanovo Region. The division is transitioning to the new Topol-M (SS-27) ground-based, solid propellant ICBM, Russia’s premiere long-range weapon. According to Interfax, Belousov stated that “the unit is combat-ready and capable of accomplishing its inherent missions.”
In October 2005, Colonel-General Nikolay Solovtsov, commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Troops, stated that SMT units were to be armed with the new Topol-M mobile missile system beginning in 2006. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6
Another Regiment of Topol M Deployed
December 20, 2005 :: News
Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces are currently deploying a fifth Topol-M ICBM regiment in Tatishchevo, according to Russian news agencies. Four missiles were deployed this month, bringing the total number of silo-based missiles at Tatishchevo to 44.
The Topol-M (SS-27) is capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles), and is said to be the core of Russia’s modernized missile arsenal. A complete Topol-M regiment includes ten missiles and usually takes two years to deploy (four or six missiles are deployed at a time). Sources indicate that Russia has included six new missiles in its 2006 acquisition plan, and therefore it is unclear whether deployment of this fifth regiment will be completed in 2006. (Article, Link)
» RIA Novosti on Topol activation
» More stories on: Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6
Hackett on Topol-M Tests, Space Defenses
November 14, 2005 :: Analysis
James Hackett writes in the Washington Times of the numerous reports of Russia’s Topol-M test of a maneuvering warhead on November 1, which he labels both “breathless” and perhaps even to some degree “hype.” Hackett adds a few details about the Russian test which have not previously reported, including that the test included three independently targetable warheads, that the missile is equipped with faster burning engines designed to shorten the boost phase, that 46 single-warhead missiles have been fielded to date, and that 350 more armed with multiple warheads are eventually to replace the SS-25 missiles being phased out.
Hackett notes the irony behind Russia’s “Cold War”-like attempt to overcome U.S. missile defenses which are not even designed or capable of defending against Russian missiles in type or number: “you would think the Cold War never ended. …[the Russians are] ignoring the inconvenient fact that the U.S. does not intend to attack Russia.”
Hackett emphasizes too the significance such Russian developments have for U.S. missile defense efforts, namely, that they reinforce the arguments for going to space. The proliferation of the technologies to evade interceptors in midcourse and terminal phase make all the more necessary space-based interceptors. An excerpt:
A Nov. 2 report in Moscow Gazeta boasted that Russia’s new weapons will be able to overcome America’s missile defenses, noting these new weapons could only be stopped by a layer of space-based interceptors that could strike them before their final phase of flight. That is why, the article says, Moscow keeps pushing a U.N. resolution to ban weapons in space.
The Russians are right in recognizing the importance of weapons in space. The best way to stop a missile launched from an unknown location deep inland—and off-road mobile launchers can go anywhere—is from overhead. When technologies such as rapid ascent rockets and multiple maneuvering warheads spread to China, North Korea and Iran, defenses in space will be urgently needed.
It is not wise to wait until the offense gains too much advantage over the defense. The Pentagon should put more resources at an earlier date into the initial step of designing an architecture for space-based missile defenses, and get on with the developing a weapon that can perform that mission.
The full text is well worth reading: (More »»»)
» More stories on: Analysis, Maneuverable Warheads, Space-Based Systems
» Missile details: SS-N-6
Russia Tests New Maneuvering Warhead on Topol-M; Trajectory Chosen to Avoid Alaskan Radar
November 2, 2005 :: Kommersant :: News
On November 1 Russia conducted a major test of its new maneuverable warhead system and of its Topol-M (RS-12M1) ballistic missile system. The missile was launched from the Kapustin Yar facility in Russia, and traveled a relatively short distance to the Balkhash testing range in Kazakhstan.
An excerpt from Kommersant notes that the launch trajectory was somewhat unique:
A RS-12M1 Topol-M intercontinental missile with the new warhead was tested in Kazakhstan yesterday. The launch from a mobile launcher was the sixth test of the system intended to overcome American antiballistic defenses. This was the first launch to take place not at the Kura testing ground at Plesetsk [sic] in Kamchatka, but at the Kapustin Yar ground, part of the Balkhash complex in Priozersk, Kazakhstan. The change was made began the radar system at Kura is in such poor condition that it would not be able to [monitor] maneuvers the warheads carry out after separating from the intercontinental missiles, while American facilities in Alaska would be able to. In Kazakhstan, the Russians were able to control everything themselves.
Strange Reporting
The reports on this test by major media outlets have, however, been remarkably contradictory. Some sources reported that the test was of the SS-25 Topol rather than the SS-27 Topol-M. Most said the missile was launched from Kapustin Yar; but Interfax quoted Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Colonel Alexander Vovk as saying that the missile was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northern Russia. Others still had initially reported it was launched from Kamchatka. (The Kommersant report quoted above oddly says that Plesetsk is on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, rather than in northern Russia.) (More »»»)
» Xinhua on test
» RIA Novosti on Topol-M test
» Pravda on missile test
» Interfax on Topol-M test, warhead capabilities
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-N-6
» Missile system details for: Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex
Interfax on Topol-M Capabilities, Deployment Schedule
October 25, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
Interfax carries a story about the Russian Topol-M ballistic missile. The news service quotes the head of the Strategic Missile Troops, Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, as saying that the switchover to Topol-M land-based mobile missile complexes will begin in early in 2006.
This particular Interfax report is significant, however, not for confirming readiness of certain facilities for further deployment, but for repeating the claims of electromagnetic shielding and adding details about the maneuverability of the Topol-M which previously have not been reported:
Topol-M is a unique missile complex adapted to advanced missile defense systems. It is more mobile than other missile systems and is better protected from the enemy’s reconnaissance.
It weights 47.2 tonnes and is capable of carrying a combat payload of 1,200 kilograms. Its range exceeds 10,000 kilometers. Three engines allow it to develop speed much faster than the previous types of missiles. Several dozen additional engines and control gear make its flight unpredictable for the enemy. Topol-M’s designers claim the system is absolutely immune to electromagnetic impulses.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Russia
» Missile details: SS-N-6
 |
| Total Records: 31 |
«
1
[2]
3
4
»
|
