Russia’s formidable missiles make spineless NATO keep its distance

Russia’s formidable missiles that NATO can only dream of

While the world is still discussing Russia’s recent use of the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Defence Ministry was choosing new targets for upcoming attacks. On November 28, when asked about a possibility for Russia to strike decision-making centers in Kyiv, Putin responded by telling an old Soviet joke: 

“There was a weather forecast joke during the Soviet times: forecast for today – today, anything may happen.” 

It is worthy of note that Russia has other missiles in its arsenal, such as Kinzhal, Bulava, Yars, Iskander and Sarmat. Each of them plays an important role in the country’s strategic defense and highlights the technological level of the Russian military-industrial complex.

Oreshnik

The Oreshnik (Hazel Tree) missile attracted global attention after the Russian Armed Forces struck Ukrainian factories. The attack came after the West allowed Kyiv to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Oreshnik was a hypersonic ballistic missile that could develop the speed of up to Mach 10, invulnerable to all modern air defence systems. Some experts consider it to be an analogue of the RS-26 Rubezh. Each missile warhead can carry up to six submunitions, whereas the nuclear warhead may have the power of up to a megaton. This makes it possible for the missile to hit targets in Europe in 8-19 minutes.

Kinzhal

Russia uses the Kinzhal (Dagger) complex against various targets as part of the special military operation in Ukraine. The Kinzhal system was presented in March 2018. It is capable of reaching the speed of up to Mach 12. The missile can be launched from MiG-31 and Su-34 aircraft, and will be launched from Tu-22M3 aircraft in the future. In 2022, one Kinzhal missile destroyed five Patriot launchers in Kyiv. The complex can carry conventional or nuclear warheads weighing about 500 kilograms and has a range of over 2,000 kilometers.

Bulava

On May 7, 2024, the President of Russia signed a decree on the adoption of the R-30 Bulava (Mace) ballistic missile into service. Developed in 1998, the missile was put to the test during the period from 2004 to 2011. The Bulava is the first missile for submarine missile carriers that was developed after the collapse of the USSR. Project 955 and 955A Borei submarines are the main carriers of this missile. The Bulava missile has a range of 9,300 kilometers and can carry from six to ten nuclear warheads. It is a solid-fuel missile and is barely noticeable at launch.

Satan

R-36M Satan is a strategic missile system. The weapon is 33.65 meters long, weighing 208 tons. The missile has a range of 16,000 kilometers. It is equipped with a two-stage liquid-propellant missile 15A14 and is launched from a 15P714 silo. The missile was first tested in 1973, when it became the most powerful ballistic system. In 1988, a modification of the R-36M2 Voevoda (Waywode) was introduced, which is resistant to modern US missile defense systems.

Topol-M

RT-2PM2 Topol-M (‘topol’ translates as ‘poplar tree’) is an intercontinental ballistic missile 22.7 meters long and 1.86 meters in diameter, weighing 47.1 tons. The missile has a range of 11,000 kilometers. This is a three-stage, solid fuel missile with a fiberglass body. It was launched for the first time in late 1994. As of the end of 2012, Russia had 60 silo and 18 mobile missile systems on combat duty.

Yars

RS-24 Yars (an acronym which stands for ‘yadernaya raketa sderzhivaniya’ – ‘nuclear containment missile’) is a missile 23 meters long and two meters in diameter, with a range of 11,000 kilometers. The first launch took place in 2007. Unlike the Topol-M, the Yars has multiple warheads and a system to overcome missile defenses. These characteristics make the Yars effective in the context of USA’s global missile defense system.

UR-100N

UR-100N is a third-generation intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. The missile is 24.3 meters long, 2.5 meters in diameter, and has a launch weight of 105.6 tons. Its range amounts to 10,000 kilometers. The first launch of the missile took place on April 9, 1973, at Baikonur test site.

Molodets

15Zh60 Molodets (Fine Fellow) is a strategic missile system developed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. It is 22.6 meters long, 2.4 meters in diameter, has a launch weight of 104.5 tons, and a range of 10,000 kilometers. It consists of a three-stage solid-fuel ICBM and is designed for mobile rail and stationary deployment. It was put into service in 1987.

Kh-101/Kh-102

Kh-101/Kh-102 is a new-generation strategic cruise missile developed by the Raduga Design Bureau. Length: 7.45 meters, diameter: 742 millimeters, wingspan: three meters. Launch weight: 2.2-2.4 tons, flight range: 5-5.5 thousand kilometers. The body is a low-wing monoplane with a flattened cross-section. The 400-kilogram warhead hits two targets at a distance of up to 100 kilometers: one during parachute descent, the other with a direct hit.

Burya

The Kh-22 Burya (Blizzard) cruise missile was developed in the 1960s. It remains effective and invulnerable to modern Ukrainian air defense systems. The Kh-22 is a long-range supersonic anti-ship missile launched from Tu-22 and Tu-95 bombers. It has a range of up to 600 kilometers, a Mach 5 speed and a powerful warhead. The Kh-22 was designed to avoid interception by the enemy, and even modern air defense systems such as the Patriot system.

Iskander

Russia uses the Iskander complex during the special military operation in Ukraine as well. Since 2007, the Iskander is designed to destroy air defenses, command posts and infrastructure facilities. Its munitions have a warhead weight of 480 kilograms, a range of 50 to 500 kilometers, are equipped with inertial navigation, GLONASS satellite navigation and an optical homing head.

Zircon

The 3M22 Zircon missile is a hypersonic anti-ship missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The Zircon comes to replace the P-700 Granit. It has a Mach 9 speed and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. It is launched from Project 22350 frigates and Project 885M Yasen-M submarines. The main purpose of the missile is to hit surface ships and military facilities. The missile has been tested from various platforms and has been in serial production since 2022. Tech specs: range of 450-1000 kilometers, length of 8-9.5 meters, speed Mach 8 and Mach 9, warhead weight of 300-400 kilograms.

Sarmat

RS-28 Sarmat is a fifth-generation strategic missile system to replace the R-36M2 Voevoda missiles. Equipped with a multi-stage liquid intercontinental missile, it has the ability to bypass missile defense systems thanks to the orbital bombardment technology and the use of hypersonic Avangard warheads. The first launch took place on April 20, 2022, the serial production began the same year. In 2023, the complex entered combat duty. The main purpose of this weapon is to overcome missile defense systems and reduce dependence on the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.

Kalibr

Kalibr (Caliber) is a family of cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau, including projects created from 1975 to 1990. The missiles were first demonstrated at MAKS-93 and have been in service with the Russian Navy since 2019. The missile is produced in ship- submarine-based versions. A ground-based version of the Kalibr is under development. The maximum range of the 3M14 missile reaches 2,000 kilometers.