Russia developing powerful new missile systems – commander

The ICBMs, which are in the final stages of development, will be similar to the hypersonic Oreshnik, Sergey Karakaev has said

Russia is developing new missile systems that are no less effective than the Avangard nuclear gliders and the hypersonic Oreshnik missile, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) has said.

General Sergey Karakaev made the remarks on Tuesday in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, the official newspaper of the Russian military, on the 65th anniversary of the creation of the SMF.

According to Karakaev, Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), such as the Avangard and Oreshnik, are equipped with fundamentally new types of warheads that are virtually unstoppable. Work is also underway on testing and introducing into combat the new Sarmat and Osina strategic missile systems.

“And these are far from all the examples,” Karakaev said, adding that Russia is in the final stages of developing a wide range of equally effective missile systems, but “the time has not yet come to talk about them.”

The powerful Yars ICBMs are currently at the core of the Russian deterrence forces, the SMF commander noted. The process is ongoing to replace the world’s most powerful silo-based missile, the RS-20V Voevoda (SS-18 Satan according to NATO classification) with the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM. The systems were put into service at the end of 2023.

The liquid-fueled heavy RS-28 Sarmat, which had its first successful test launch in April 2022, is believed to be able to carry up to ten heavy warheads with multiple re-entry capability. It is also reportedly compatible with the Avangard hypersonic glider, a type of warhead that can approach targets in the atmosphere at high speeds while retaining maneuverability to dodge anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. The Russian military said the Sarmat’s range allows it to be fired from Russia at targets in the US via the South Pole, avoiding the American ABM site in Alaska.

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Asked about the US missile bases near Russia’s borders in Romania and Poland, Karakaev said they are not capable of countering Russian hypersonic missiles. He highlighted that Russian missile systems at a design stage are being equipped with technical solutions that will be effective in any scenario of the missile defense system development by the US and its allies.

“There is no place in terms of range that our missiles cannot reach,” he stressed.

Moscow has warned that it sees NATO’s expansion toward Russia’s borders as an existential threat and views the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war to contain Russia.

President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia’s new hypersonic Oreshnik missile system is a key part of the country’s comprehensive response to the US decision to deploy medium-range missiles in Western Europe. Moscow demonstrated the Oreshnik’s capability in November by firing the ballistic missile with a hypersonic conventional warhead at a Ukrainian military plant in the city of Dnepr. Mass production of the Oreshnik will start in 2025.