Russia continues its strategy of deterrence with the announcement, on Wednesday April 20, of the first successful test firing of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new generation weapon with very long range that President Vladimir Putin has hailed as “unparalleled “.
“It is truly a unique weapon that will boost the military potential of our armed forces, keep Russia safe from external threats and make those who try to threaten our country with wild and aggressive rhetoric think twice. said Vladimir Putin.
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“I emphasize that only assemblies, components and parts of national manufacture were used for the creation of Sarmat”, he added, during an announcement broadcast on television. According to Valdimir Putin, the fifth-generation Sarmat intercontinental heavy ballistic missile is capable of “outsmarting all modern anti-aircraft systems”.
In a video, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the firing took place at 3:12 p.m. (1212 GMT) from the launch pad in Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk region (northwest ). According to this source, the missile then hit as planned a target on another military ground, that of Kura, on the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, in the Far East, more than 5,000 kilometers away.
“After the end of the test program, the Sarmat will enter the Russian strategic forces,” added Igor Konashenkov. “Strategic” forces, in their broad definition, are notably designed to intervene in the event of nuclear war.
“Satan 2”, 200 tons and 10 nuclear warheads
The Sarmat bears the name of a nomadic people who lived during Antiquity around the Black Sea, between present-day Russia and Ukraine. He was nicknamed “Satan 2” by Westerners.
This new weapon is part of a series of other missiles presented in 2018 as “invincible” by Vladimir Putin. Also found there are the Kinjal (“dagger”) and Avangard hypersonic missiles. In March, Moscow claimed to have used the Kinjal against targets in Ukraine for the first time.
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Weighing over 200 tons, the Sarmat is supposed to outperform its predecessor – the Voevoda missile with a range of 11,000 km and the capacity to carry up to 10 nuclear warheads. In 2019, Vladimir Putin claimed that the Sarmat had “virtually no limits in range” and that it was able to “aim at targets crossing the North Pole as well as the South Pole”.