| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Sawfly, RSM-40, R-29, Vysota |
| Class: |
SLBM |
| Basing: |
Submarine launched |
| Length: |
13.90 m |
| Diameter: |
1.80 m |
| Launch Weight: |
33300 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear 800 kT |
| Propulsion: |
2-stage liquid |
| Range: |
9100 km |
| Status: |
Obsolete |
| In Service: |
1974 |
Details
Russian Designation: RSM-40, R-29, Vysota
The SS-N-8 was an intercontinental-range, submarine-launched, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. When the SS-N-8 was developed in the late 1960s, it represented a substantial improvement over past submarine launched ballistic missiles. It was the world’s first intercontinental-range Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM), as well as the first to carry penetration aids. It was specifically built for the ‘Delta I’ class submarines, each of which can carry twelve missiles and be fired from near their targets. The missile is capable of being launched from a submerged depth of 50 m, providing the capability of launch from safety. The Mod 2 version of the SS-N-8 entered service a year after the Mod 1, with improved range and guidance at the cost of payload.
The SS-N-8 was designed as a strategic asset which could be easily secured against US attack. With a range sufficient to strike the continental US from Russian territorial waters, anywhere in the world could be targeted by the SS-N-8. It is an outdated and possibly withdrawn weapon built specifically for counter-value strikes. Despite a large warhead, the SS-N-8 is too inaccurate to be effective against hardened targets. However, its warhead is easily capable of destroying major population centers. As it is carried on submarines, it was almost impossible to successfully intercept the system prior to launch. The significantly improved range enabled the missile submarines carrying the SS-N-8 to make combat patrols completely protected by the Soviet Navy and anti-submarine defenses.
The SS-N-8 Mod 2 has a range of 9,100 km (5,654 miles) with an accuracy of 900 m CEP. It carries a single 800 kT nuclear warhead equipped with an inertial navigation system coupled to a stellar reference sensor. The stellar reference sensor uses star-tracking to develop its improved accuracy of 900 km over previous designs. The SS-N-8 Mod 2 missile is 13.9 m long, 1.8 m in diameter with a launch weight of 33,300 kg. It uses a two-stage liquid propellant engine.
The SS-N-8 began development in 1961 and the Mod 1 became operational in 1973. The SS-N-5 Mod 2 entered service a year later. At peak levels, the Soviet Union deployed some 280 SS-N-8 missiles on 22 submarines. An obsolete design today, all save one of the ‘Delta I’ class submarines have been withdrawn from service. The one remaining boat, the K-447, is used as a training vessel for the Russian ballistic missile submarine fleet. This last boat carries 12 is capable of carrying 12 SS-N-8 missiles, though the missiles have probably been removed from service already, and the submarine will soon be retired after its reactor is expended.
There was an operational test of the SS-N-8 in 1996. By 2004 there were no longer any 'Delta 1' or 'Delta 2' boats in service. In 1994 it was proposed that the 'Delta 1' should be used as a launch vessel for satellites but nothing more has been heard about this program. It is possible that all missiles have been destroyed.(1)
Footnotes
- Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 46, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007) 584-585.
