Russia is one of the top three countries with the largest nuclear arsenal.
However, it has struggled to catch up with America’s latest ICBM technologies during
the last decade.
But all that is about to change with the nation’s latest addition to its vast arsenal: the state-of-the-art
Satan 2 or Sarmat bomb.
Inside sources have claimed that this still-unseen nuclear asset can carry up to 15 large warheads,
16 smaller ones, and a combination of countermeasures or hypersonic boost-glide vehicles that can
rain havoc across a region the size of France.
The Russian Federation has repeatedly said to the media that there is no effective counter
to Sarmat.
Still, the US has strangely dismissed the bomb, with many wondering if that will eventually
prove a huge mistake…
A New Threat In December of 2020, American journalist Peter
Suciu published an article that read: (QUOTE) “To the casual observer, it might appear
as if Moscow is preparing for war, as the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Defense
announced it will not be scaling back combat training of the Russian military in 2021 and
instead will maintain a level of intensity for combat training in the New Year.”
At the time, the world was in the middle of the COVID pandemic, when suspensions and lockdowns
were the day’s order.
Still, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said the military would conduct more
than 4,800 drills by late 2021.
During an interview with the Russian Agency TASS, Shoigu also specified that over 2,500
training facilities and more than 30,000 pieces of hardware and equipment had been repaired
and adapted adequately for the rigorous training exercises.
Besides the ground activities, General Shoigu also told TASS that there would be more naval
drills at the Black, Barents, and Baltic Seas.
Then, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Armed Forces invaded Ukraine.
As tensions quickly escalated between NATO and the Russian Federation, President Vladimir
Putin made it clear that any foreign intervention would be seen as a direct threat by Russia,
and the country would react accordingly.
One month later, Putin threatened to use his nuclear arsenal against any nation that dared
to support his enemies.
Speculations Although Putin’s threats about his country's
nuclear capabilities were not specific about the type of weaponry he was allegedly willing
to use, numerous theories suddenly took hold of social media, with several sources claiming
to have access to classified information about the Russian RS-28 Sarmat or Satan 2 intercontinental
ballistic missile.
Such sources stated that the liquid-fueled nuclear missile could destroy every breathing
being in the world, but many experts quickly rejected the claims.
First, military analysts claimed that Satan 2 does exist, but also that it has been in
development since the 2000s with no end date in sight.
Second, experts such as Professor Malcolm Chalmers from the Royal United Services Institute
who specializes in British security and defense, told Routers that such claims: (QUOTE) “Are
sometimes made as a result of wider climate-changing consequences, such as a nuclear winter.
This should not be ruled out but would, at a minimum, require hundreds of warheads, not
a single missile.”
However, the professor added that Satan 2 should not be taken lightly.
Although the missile makes no significant difference to Russia’s already impressive
arsenal, he said that from what little is known about it, the weapon has the required
capabilities to destroy areas as large as France or Texas.
This last detail comes from a report published in 2016 by Russian News Agency Sputnik News
that stated that Satan 2 carries over 10 to 15 warheads that can be deployed with pinpoint
accuracy over a specific area.
A New Satan Satan 2, officially RS-28 Sarmat, was named
after the nomadic Sarmatian tribes that dwelled in the territories that comprise Russia, Kazakhstan,
and Ukraine, centuries before Christ.
Its development can be traced back to the early 2000s when Russia sought to find a replacement
for the aging SS-18 Satan ICBM, which has an impressive range of over 10,000 kilometers.
However, it has a dated missile design, which was initially introduced in 1970 and last
modified in 1980.
Enter Satan 2, which has a more considerable range of over 18,000 kilometers.
The Russian military awarded production contracts to Makeyev Design Bureau and NPOMash in early
2011, who then presented the first concept design by July.
The first prototype was finished in late 2015, which is when the military officers announced
the missile would be completed by 2020.
It is also known that in August of 2016, Russia successfully tested Sarmat’s first-stage
PDU-99 engine.
A year later, the military conducted the first silo ejection of the Sarmat, which had a failure
related to the launch system.
Still, subsequent tests proved successful during March and May of 2018, but that did
not prevent the program from lagging behind the expected delivery schedule.
The Russian Army was supposed to receive over 50 missiles by December of 2018, but the delivery
of the RS28 ICBMs was pushed to late 2021 or early 2022.
During a December 2020 interview with TASS, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said:
(QUOTE) “At present, defense industry enterprises continue to get ready for state flight trials
of the Sarmat ICBM system.
It is scheduled to enter combat duty in 2022.”
Shoigu remarked that the Sarmat ICBM would enter service with Russia’s Strategic Missile
Forces or RVSN once production lines were modernized to carry out the task.
Pride of a Nation In a subsequent press release from early 2021,
Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters that Satan 2 is something unique
the United States lacks.
He also added that Satan 2 is over 35.3 meters long, 3 meters in diameter, and has a weight
of over 220 tons.
Further specifications included a 10-ton payload, and Sarmat can supposedly carry up to 15 large
warheads, 16 smaller ones, and a combination of countermeasures or hypersonic boost-glide
vehicles.
The Russian military is also working on the Avangard glide vehicle, which is scheduled
to debut along with the Satan 2.
In December of 2021, details began to leak about the concentration of Russian troops
near the Ukrainian government.
Colonel General Sergey Karakayev stated that Satan 2 was about to replace the heavy-class
silo-based Voevoda missile systems to continue the modernization of Russia’s arsenal.
Then, in April of 2022, President Putin announced during a TV address that the first RS-28 Sarmat
had been thoroughly tested with great success.
He remarked that: (QUOTE) “This truly unique weapon will strengthen the combat potential
of our armed forces, reliably ensure Russia’s security in the face of external threats,
and will provide food for thought to those who in the heat of frenzied aggressive rhetoric
try to threaten our country.”
U.S. Stance Despite Putin’s threats, Pentagon Press
Secretary John Kirby stated that Satan’s 2 test launch was: (QUOTE) “Not deemed to
be a threat to the United States or its allies.
Russia properly notified the United States under its New START treaty obligations that
it planned to test this ICBM.
Such testing is routine and was not a surprise."
Additionally, the Pentagon assured the American people should not feel threatened because
the Army is fully prepared to counter Russia's latest missile development.
Still, as the war with Ukraine rages on, Putin and his cabinet have turned more aggressive.
In June of 2022, Putin again stated that the first 50 Sarmats would be delivered by the
end of the year.
Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia’s state space agency, Roscosmos, told the press: (QUOTE)
“I suggest that aggressors speak to us more politely.”
The threat came on the heels of Finland announcing that it was planning to join NATO.
But for the time being, it is a matter of waiting to see if the secret weapon surfaces
after the many delays it has had.
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