The 'RS-28 Sarmat' ( NATO reporting name: SS-X-30), colloquially known in the West as the 'Satan II', is a Russian, liquid-fueled, MIRV-equipped super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It will replace the R-36M ICBM (SS-18 'Satan'). The Sarmat is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Sarmat ICBM was successfully launched from a silo launcher on 20 April 2022 from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk, Russia.
The 'RS-28 Sarmat' can carry about 10 tonnes of payload for either 10 heavy or 15 light MIRV warheads, an unspecified number of Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs), or a combination of warheads and several countermeasures against anti-ballistic missile systems.
Sarmat has a short boost phase, which shortens the interval when it can be tracked by satellites with infrared sensors, such as the 'U.S. Space-Based Infrared System', making it more difficult to intercept. Reportedly, the Sarmat can fly a trajectory over the South Pole, which is entirely immune to any current missile defense system. It also has the Fractional Orbital Bombardment (FOBS) capability.
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