The Russian army announced, Wednesday, April 20, the first successful test firing of the intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat. This new generation weapon of very long range was presented as “without equal” by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is truly a unique weapon that will enhance the military potential of our armed forces, keep Russia safe from external threats and make those who try to threaten our country with wild and aggressive rhetoric think twice. », said the head of the Kremlin. He also clarified that “Only assemblies, components and parts of national manufacture were used for the creation of Sarmat”.
The Pentagon reacted a few hours later by assuring that the shooting carried out on Wednesday was a test of « routine » and did not constitute “not a threat” for the United States or its allies. Moscow has “suitably informed” Washington of carrying out this test, in accordance with its obligations under the nuclear treaties, and it was therefore not a « surprise » for the US Department of Defense, assured its spokesman, John Kirby.
The research and development program for this new system began some fifteen years ago. At the end of 2021, the Russian news agency TASS announced, based on a military source, that the Sarmat test program had been “readjusted” and that only one launch would ultimately take place in 2021 – instead of two – then that five more were planned for 2022.
Shown as able to evade air defenses
In a video, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the firing took place at 3:12 p.m. (2:12 p.m. Paris time) from the Plesetsk launch pad in the Arkhangelsk region. , in the northwest of Russia. According to this source, the missile hit, as expected, a target on the Kura military field, in the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, in the Far East, more than 5,000 kilometers away. “After the end of the test program, the Sarmat will enter the Russian strategic forces”, added Mr. Konashenkov. Forces “strategic”in their broad definition, intervene in particular in the event of nuclear war.
The Sarmat bears the name of a nomadic people who lived during Antiquity around the Black Sea, between present-day Russia and Ukraine. According to Vladimir Putin, this missile is capable of “outwit all modern anti-aircraft systems”. Weighing in at over 200 tonnes, the Sarmat is said to outperform its predecessor – the 11,000 kilometer range Voevoda missile, codenamed “Satan” to the West.
In 2019, Mr Putin claimed that Sarmat had no “virtually no range limits” and that he was able to “aim at targets crossing the North Pole like the South Pole”. The Russian president also said on Wednesday that Sarmat was capable of “outwit all modern anti-aircraft systems”.
This missile is also regularly mentioned for its ability to carry a dozen nuclear warheads. In an April 2018 memo, the Foundation for Strategic Research wrote that, due to the guidance system the Sarmat is supposed to use, ” the precision of the missile should be very high (less than 10 meters), if it is well associated with maneuvering warheads”.
This weapon is part of a series of other missiles presented in 2018 as ” invincible “ by the head of the Kremlin, including the Kinjal and Avangard hypersonic missiles. In April 2021, Vladimir Putin planned a first regiment fully equipped with Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles operational by the end of 2022.