| Country: |
Russian Federation |
| Alternate Name: |
Bark, Grom |
| Status: |
Terminated |
Details
Russian Designation: Bark or Grom
The SS-NX-28 is an intercontinental-range, submarine-based, solid-propellant ballistic missile design that was never completed. It was a cancelled Russian program that was planned to replace the SS-N-20 on the ‘Typhoon’ class submarine and to be fitted for the next generation ‘Borey’ class missile submarine. However, production of the missile was delayed and eventually cancelled following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The SS-NX-30, a submarine variant of the successful SS-27, will replace the SS-NX-28, though the SS-N-23 will likely be used as an interim solution.
The SS-NX-28 would have been a strategic asset. The system probably would have been equipped with Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads, which would greatly increase the amount of potential damage that could be created by a single submarine. This significantly increases the risk of engaging in a nuclear conflict, as it would be nearly impossible to completely eliminate all the nuclear missile submarines and failing to destroy even a single one could be catastrophic. The SS-NX-28 could potentially have been used as a counterforce missile, as modern accuracy on MIRV warheads could allow for the destruction of hardened silos.
The SS-NX-28 was likely a large, three-stage solid propellant missile with a range of 8,000 km (4,971 miles) or greater. The system almost certainly would have been equipped with MIRV warheads, probably in a similar fashion to the SS-N-23. However, a single warhead designed to penetrate missile defenses similar to the current design of the SS-27 could also have been possible. The system probably would have used a combination of inertial navigation, stellar reference and a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system.
The SS-NX-28 entered development in 1985. It is believed that the design of the missile was completed in 1989, but the project was delayed due to the fall of the USSR. Three failed flight tests were reported for 1997 and 1998, and a combination of technical difficulties and funding issues are believed to have led to termination of the program in 1999.(1)
Footnotes
- Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 46, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007) 154-155.
