The
RT-2UTTKh «Topol-M», NATO reporting
name: SS-27 Stalin, other designations: RS-12M1,
RS-12M2, RT-2PM2)is one of the most recent intercontinental
ballistic missiles to be deployed by Russia, and
the first to be developed after the dissolution
of the Soviet Union. According to Russia the missile
is designed to be immune to any current or planned
U.S. missile defence system. It is capable of making
evasive maneuvers to avoid a kill by terminal phase
interceptors, and carries targeting countermeasures
and decoys. It is shielded against radiation, EMP,
nuclear explosions at distances over 500 meters,
and is designed to survive a hit from any laser
technology.One of the Topol-M's most notable features
is its short engine burn time following take-off,
intended to minimize satellite detection of launches
and thereby complicate both early warning and interception
by missile defense systems during boost phase. The
missile also has a relatively flat ballistic trajectory,
complicating defense acquisition and interception.
The Topol-M was designed by the Moscow Institute
for Thermotechnology (MIT) and assembled at the
Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, Kolomna. Solid
propellant motors are made by Soyuz NPO, Dzerzhisky,
inertial guidance and control system by the Automatic
Equipment and Instrument Production NPO, Moscow
and the nuclear warhead by Arazmus-16 (VNIIEF) at
Nizhniy Novgorod.
The
Topol-M is a cold-launched, three-stage,
solid-propellant, silo-based or road-mobile
intercontinental ballistic missile. The
missile's length is 22.7 m and the first
stage has a body diameter of 1.9 m. The
mass at launch is 47,200 kg, including the
1000-1200 kilogram payload. Topol-M carries
a single warhead with a 550 kT yield but
the design is compatible with MIRV warheads.
According to chief designer Yury Solomonov,
the missile can carry four to six warheads
along with decoys.Its minimum range is estimated
to be 2,000 km and the maximum range 10,500
km. It has three solid rocket stages with
inertial, autonomous flight control utilizing
an onboard GLONASS receiver.It is reputed
to have the highest accuracy of any Russian
ICBM with a CEP of 200m or 350m depending
on the source.
Missile
The
missile has a launch weight of 47,200 kg.
Guidance is by an onboard digital inertial
navigation system with a Glonass receiver,
providing an accuracy of 350 m CEP. There
is a downlink from the missile to the ground
station, so that the missile's position
can be transmitted to launch control. The
minimum range is believed to be 2,000 km,
and the maximum range 10,500 km. The missile
has a life of between 15 and 20 years. It
is believed that the SS-27 missile carries
a single nuclear warhead with a 550 kT yield,
although one Russian report suggests a yield
of 1 MT, with countermeasures, and has a
throw weight of 1,000 kg.
Truck
The
Topol-M may be deployed either inside a
reinforced missile silo, which is reported
to be able to withstand a direct nuclear
hit or from a launcher mounted on the MZKT-79921
16-wheeled transporter-erector-launcher.
This mobile launcher is capable of moving
through roadless terrain, and launching
a missile from any point along its route.
The designation for the silo-based Topol-M
missile is believed to be RS-12M2, while
the mobile version is RS-12M1.
Accessories
The
Topol-M has a newly developed first stage,
which is wider and heavier than that used
on the RS-12M. Russian accounts have stressed
the invulnerability of the new missile to
anti-ballistic missile defences, and the
missile has a more energetic first-stage
engine and incorporates a new warhead and
re-entry vehicle.
Pakistan
plans to conduct another test of tactical missile Nasr (Hatf IX) in
May 2012 able to carry a nuclear warhead, said Saturday, May 19, 2012,
the television channel Geo TV. According to the channel, the Pakistan
army is fully ready to test.
