“Hell’s Troika”: a weapon that saved Moscow from a nuclear attack

illustration, Photo: Tanjug / AP

In those years, Ronald Reagan came to power in the United States and set the course for a direct confrontation with Moscow. However, the appearance of new IBRs in the USSR has cooled the heads of the American authorities. What makes this weapon specific?

Can raze any city

The largest ICBM in the history of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation is the RS-10, which came into use in the late 1960s. It could lower a light warhead (0.5 megatons) to 10.5 thousand kilometers or a heavy warhead (1.1 megatons) at 5,000 kilometers, but the United States already had antimissile systems capable of intercepting individuals. warheads. It became clear that an aircraft carrier should have multiple warheads.

The first multihead rocket is the RS-16A. It was similar in size to the R-10 and did not require the construction of new launchers. The warhead was equipped with four blocks with a capacity of 0.5 to 0.75 megatons. Thus, Soviet strategic missile forces could prepare 200 “hiroshis” for the enemy with one launch. The range is 10-11 thousand kilometers. RS-16A “dumped” any American city. However, there were also shortcomings, specifically not exactly the best precision.

Development of the modernized R-16B with improved features began in 1976. On the outside, she was a little different from her predecessor, but exceeded her abilities one and a half or two times. The precision was doubled, it had new warheads and a complex to separate the warheads. The control system is self-contained inertial, capable of changing the target during pre-launch preparation.

The R-16B complex was equipped with an autonomous “Meridian” air guidance system, which allowed the rocket to launch and find its trajectory even after a nuclear explosion near the launch site. This seriously increased the IBR’s survivability in the event of a first attack from a potential enemy. In the 1980s, a total of 150 RS-16 sets of both modifications were built.

Avangard support

The first regiments with the IBR RS-18A took up combat duty in the mid-1970s. The missile already carried six warheads, each with a capacity of 750 kilotons, as well as a complex of means to overcome missile defense. The range is ten thousand kilometers. Even an RS-18A, when piercing through enemy defenses, could deal colossal damage. The Pentagon saw this as one of the main threats to American security.

The RS-18B modification has been structurally simplified, with more reliable engines, improved control systems, and combat equipment. Strategic missile forces began the transition to these complexes in 1980, and a total of 360 missiles were in service.

It is interesting that this weapon is still relevant. It is the RS-18B that carries the latest “Avangard” hypersonic warheads. According to data from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, one of the missile regiments is already fully equipped with “Avangards”.

“This complex is rightly the first in the forefront of the creation of new types of weapons, opening the era of strategic hypersonic weapons,” the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation recently said, Sergei Karakayev.

An important argument

The RS-20A heavy, two-stage liquid-fuel rocket came into use in December 1975. It is better known to the general public as “Satan” (in NATO terminology). It was the most powerful IBR in the world.

The weapon was intended for the destruction of all types of targets protected by modern anti-missile systems, and was produced in three versions: a monoblock with a payload of 8 megatons and a range of 16,000 kilometers, a monoblock with a warhead with a capacity of 20 megatons and a range of 11,000 kilometers. as well as with a multiple warhead (eight blocks, each with a capacity of 1.3 megatons).

Despite the already excessive power of the new rocket, work on its improved version soon began to increase. The RS-20B could already carry ten warheads, each with a capacity of one megaton, and hit small targets that were very robust, for example protected underground bunkers and command and control posts. The improved version was more accurate, more reliable, and easier to produce. It differed from its previous version by a new phase of warhead separation, which allowed coverage of a much larger area.

The method of basing and launching a rocket is especially noteworthy. It was placed in the launcher directly into the transport launch container, filled with fuel, and then ready for combat. Preparation time for launch is just over a minute. The RS-20B rocket was ejected from the launcher by a gunpowder pressure accumulator. The engine was already in the air.

The next development is RS-20V. It is more precise, the warhead separation area has been increased, and the time to prepare for launch has decreased. The RS-20Bs are still in service and should be replaced by advanced and heavy RS-28 “Sarmat” missiles. They are expected in the troops next year.