Combat installation poplar. ​​​​Intercontinental ballistic missile "Topol-M"

Intercontinental ballistic missiles, which include the Topol models, are designed to destroy enemy ground and sea launchers of ICBMs, government and armed forces control centers, strategic military and economic facilities, large land and sea formations of the enemy's armed forces.

In total, there are three Topol models with modifications - together, in terms of the number of missiles and warheads placed on them, they form the basis of the ground component of the Russian nuclear forces. “Topol” is not missiles themselves, but strategic missile systems in mobile (mobile ground) and silo-based versions, using three-stage solid-fuel ICBMs (based on RT-2PM), which were developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering - in fact, the only one currently in Russian ICBM developer:

1) the original “Topol” is a mobile ground-based strategic missile system using the RS-12M monoblock ICBM (SS-25 Sickle, or “Sickle”, in NATO classification). First flight test in February 1983, adopted for service in 1985. Warhead power 550 kt, firing range 10,500 km, missile launch weight 45 tons. The launcher is mounted on the basis of a seven-axle chassis of a MAZ heavy-duty vehicle. In 1998, 369 Topol complexes were in service. At the beginning of 2017, 36 mobile systems remained on combat duty in the Barnaul area. The number of Topols is decreasing due to the expiration of their service life. By 2021, “Topol” must be completely withdrawn from service and destroyed, which is being carried out step by step.

2) “Topol-M” (RS-12M2, SS-27) - an analogue of “Topol”, however, with significantly higher characteristics in a number of indicators and new capabilities, including:

The ICBM itself is given the ability to maneuver during the active phase of the flight;

the total flight time to the target has been significantly reduced by increasing the rocket's acceleration speed and the warhead's flight speed;

the missile is equipped with a complex of missile defense breakthrough means with active and passive decoys and means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead;

a high level of resistance to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion has been ensured, which has increased the survivability of the missile;

the infrared “footprint” of the mobile complex has been reduced;

increased cross-country ability and maneuverability of the complex, including on soft ground;

The radar signature of the complex has been reduced due to special coatings on its surfaces.

Topol-M is the first ICBM that the Russian Federation began to develop. First flight test in December 1994. The modernized complex was put into service in April 2000. Warhead power 550 kt, firing range 11,000 km, launch weight 47.1 tons. There are 60 missiles in the silos, and 18 mobile complexes. The deployment of additional systems has been discontinued in favor of the Yars.

3) a modification of the Topol-M complex is the Yars complex (RS-24, SS-29). A distinctive feature of the missile is its multiple independently targetable warhead (MIRV), capable of carrying 4 maneuvering warheads, which further increased the ability to break through the missile defense of the intended enemy. First flight test in May 2007, on combat duty since the summer of 2010. Warhead power 150-250 depending on their number, firing range 12,000 km, launch weight 49.6 tons. At the beginning of 2017, there were 84 Yars mobile complexes on combat duty. and 12 missiles in silo launchers, and a total of 384 warheads, or 40% of the warheads of ground-based nuclear forces.

To be honest, I haven’t heard that Yuzhmash (you mean it?) has anything to do with Topol. RT-2PM was developed by MIT on the basis of RT-2, which was previously created by Korolev OKB-1. There was fierce competition between the missile design bureaus, the general designers hated each other, there were set-ups and there was a desperate behind-the-scenes struggle for the right to make a new rocket. Therefore, I doubt that they would attract a competitor for a contract.

Ukrainian enterprises could participate at the production stage in separate units. After all, not only one missile was created, but a whole complex, which included both a tractor and the construction/reconstruction of a silo launcher. There, hundreds of enterprises took part in this matter.

Answer

Regarding "Topol", it seems that you are right. Yuzhmash did not participate. From Ukraine - only the Kiev Arsenal (and, naturally, not in the development of a rocket as such).

The following structures were involved in the development and production of combat and training equipment of the Topol complexes:

Missile targeting system - Central Design Bureau "Arsenal" (development) and PA "Plant "Arsenal", Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR (production);

As for Topol-M - together with Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. But this is the same Dnepropetrovsk (now Dnieper).

This development work was called “Universal”, the complex being developed was designated RT-2PM2. The development of the complex was carried out jointly by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering and the Dnepropetrovsk Yuzhnoye Design Bureau.

In March 1992, it was decided to develop the Topol-M complex based on developments under the Universal program (in April, Yuzhnoye ceased its participation in work on the complex).

Answer

Comment

One of the most successful modern Russian complexes is considered to be the Topol mobile ground missile system (SS-25 “Sickle” according to NATO classification) with the RS-12M missile. "Topol-M" is the result of further modification of the "Topol" complex and is equipped with a more advanced RS-2PM2 missile

One of the most successful modern Russian complexes is considered to be the Topol mobile ground missile system (SS-25 “Sickle” according to NATO classification) with the RS-12M missile.

The development of the intercontinental three-stage ballistic missile RT-2PM on solid mixed fuel weighing 45 tons with a monoblock nuclear warhead (weight 1 ton) was carried out by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering under the leadership of chief designer Nadiradze (after his death the development was continued by Lagutin) and is a further modernization of the RT-2P missile.

The first flight test of the missile was carried out at the Plesetsk test site on February 8, 1983, and in 1985 the RT-2PM missile entered service with the Strategic Missile Forces. The RT-2PM missile is produced in Votkinsk, its launcher is a seven-axle vehicle of the MAZ-7310 type (later modifications to the MAZ-7917) - at the Barrikady plant in Volgograd. The RT-2PM missile spends its entire service life in a sealed transport and launch container 22 m long and 2 m in diameter. The launcher weighs about 100 tons. and a very respectable size, it has good mobility and cross-country ability.

Unlike the RSD-10 and Temp-2S, the Topol missile can be launched from any point along the combat patrol route. If necessary, the RS-12M can be launched directly from the hangar during parking for maintenance, through the sliding roof. To launch from an unequipped position, the launcher is hung on jacks and leveled. Preparation time for the start is about 2 minutes. The type of launch is mortar: after installing the “pencil case” in a vertical position and shooting off its upper cap, the powder pressure accumulators push the rocket out of it to a height of several meters, after which the first-stage propulsion engine is started.

The RT-2PM missile is designed according to a design with three sustainer stages. The rocket used a new, more advanced mixed fuel developed at the Lyubertsy LNPO Soyuz. All three stages are equipped with solid propellant rocket engines with one fixed nozzle. On the body of the first stage there were folding rotary lattice aerodynamic rudders (4 pieces), used for flight control together with gas-jet rudders and 4 lattice aerodynamic stabilizers. The bodies of the upper stages were manufactured using the method of continuous winding from organoplastic according to the “cocoon” pattern. The third stage was equipped with a transition compartment for attaching the warhead. The firing range was controlled by cutting off the third-stage propulsion engine, using a thrust cut-off unit, with eight reversible bells and “windows” cut through by detonating charges in the organoplastic power structure of the body.

The guidance system is autonomous, inertial with an on-board computer. The warhead is monoblock, nuclear, weighing about 1 ton. The missile was equipped with a set of means to overcome the missile defense of a potential enemy. The integrated control system made it possible to fully automate the control of the rocket in flight, preparation for launch and carrying out control and regulatory work.

After modernization, the missile could be used in a silo.

Mobile and stationary command posts were developed for the new complexes. The mobile command post for combat control of the Topol ICBM was located on the chassis of a four-axle MAZ-543M vehicle.

To control the fire, mobile command posts "Barrier" and "Granit" were also used, equipped with a missile, with a transmitter instead of a combat load, which, after launching the missile, duplicated the start command for the launchers located in positional areas.

In 1984, the construction of stationary structures and the equipment of combat patrol routes for Topol mobile missile systems began in the positional areas of the RT-2P and UR-100 ICBMs being removed from duty and located in the OS silos. Later, the positioning areas of medium-range complexes removed from service under the INF Treaty were arranged.

The Topol complex began entering service in 1985. The first missile regiment entered combat duty near Yoshkar-Ola on July 23, 1985. The Topol missile divisions were deployed near the cities of Barnaul, Verkhnyaya Salda (Nizhny Tagil), Vypolzovo (Bologoe), Yoshkar-Ola, Teykovo, Yurya, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Irkutsk, as well as near the village of Drovyanaya, Chita region. Nine regiments (81 launchers) were deployed in missile divisions on the territory of Belarus - near the cities of Lida, Mozyr and Postavy. After the collapse of the USSR, some of the Topols remained on the territory of Belarus and were withdrawn from it by November 27, 1996.

According to the START-2 treaty, 360 units of the Topol missile system will be reduced by 2007.

In 1986, on the basis of the second and third stages of the RT-2PM rocket, a medium-range mobile soil complex "Speed" was developed.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the RS-12 "Topol" complex

"Topol M"

Currently, the basis of the ground component of Russia's strategic nuclear forces is the Topol-M complex, produced by the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant. This complex is the only currently mass-produced missile system in Russia.

"Topol-M" is the result of a further modification of the "Topol" complex and is equipped with a more advanced RS-2PM2 missile.

Due to the restrictions imposed on modernization by the main provisions of the START-2 treaty, the tactical and technical characteristics of the missile could not undergo significant changes and the main differences from the RS-2PM lie in the flight characteristics and stability when penetrating through possible enemy missile defense systems. Moreover, the warhead was initially created taking into account the possibility of rapid modernization in case a potential enemy developed existing missile defense systems. The creators also do not deny the technical possibility of installing a warhead with multiple individually targeted warheads. According to experts, there can be from three to seven.

Thanks to three improved solid-propellant sustainer engines, the RS-12M2 missile began to pick up speed much faster, and several dozen auxiliary engines, instruments and a control mechanism also make its flight difficult to predict for the enemy. The RS-12M2, unlike its predecessor, does not have lattice aerodynamic stabilizers, uses an improved guidance system (insensitive to powerful electromagnetic pulses), and uses a more efficient mixed charge.

According to the plans of the Russian leadership and the Russian Defense Ministry, Topol-M will have to replace 270 silo-based complexes with missiles equipped with multiple warheads. These are, first of all, ballistic liquid missiles of the RS-20 (SS-18 according to the Western classification), RS-18 (SS-19), RS-16 (SS-17) systems and solid fuel RS-22 (SS-24), created in the early eighties. Over time, these missiles will be supplemented by 350 mobile Topol complexes, to replace which a mobile version of the Topol-M based on an eight-axle tractor has been developed. According to the latest government plans, in 2004 it is planned to begin testing a mobile version of the Topol-M complex.

During combat duty, the Topol-M missile will be located in a transport and launch container. It is assumed that it will be operated as part of both stationary (in silo launchers) and mobile complexes. In this case, in a stationary version, it is advisable to use silo launchers (silos) of missiles removed from service or destroyed in accordance with the START-2 Treaty. The modification of these silos should ensure that it is impossible to install a “heavy” ICBM and includes pouring a layer of concrete at the bottom of the shaft, as well as installing a special restrictive ring at the top. Placing Topol-M missiles in existing silos modified in this way will significantly reduce the costs of developing and deploying the complex. The launch method is active-reactive (“mortar”).

The re-equipment of the Strategic Missile Forces units is carried out using existing infrastructure. Mobile and stationary versions are fully compatible with the existing combat command and control system.

Fundamentally new technical solutions were used when creating systems and units of the mobile launcher, the Topol-M complex. Thus, the partial suspension system makes it possible to deploy the Topol-M launcher even on soft soils. The maneuverability and maneuverability of the installation have been improved, which increases its survivability. "Topol-M" is capable of launching from any point in the positional area (and not from a limited number of predetermined positions), and also has improved camouflage means against both optical and other reconnaissance means.

Technical characteristics of the chassis: wheel formula - 16x16, steerable first three and last three axles, turning radius - 18 m, ground clearance - 475 mm, fording ability - 1.1 m, tires - 1.600x 600-685, curb weight - 40,000 kg, load capacity - 80,000 kg, engine - V12 diesel YaMZ-847 with a power of 800 hp. c., speed - 45 km/h, range - 500 km.

The characteristics of the Topol-M missile system can significantly increase the readiness of the Strategic Missile Forces to carry out assigned combat missions in any conditions, ensure maneuverability, secrecy of actions and survivability of units, subunits and individual launchers, as well as reliability of control and autonomous operation for a long time (without replenishment inventories of materials).

The missiles are equipped with monoblock warheads, but, unlike all other strategic missiles, they can be quickly re-equipped with multiple warheads capable of carrying up to three charges. If necessary, if restrictions under the START-2 treaty are lifted, several warheads with individually targetable multiple warheads (MIRVs) can be installed on this monoblock missile.

The main advantages of the Topol-M missile system lie in its flight characteristics and combat stability when penetrating through possible enemy missile defense systems. Three solid fuel propulsion engines allow the rocket to gain speed much faster than all previous types of rockets. The higher energy of the missile makes it possible to reduce the effectiveness of missile defense in the active part of the trajectory. Several dozen auxiliary engines, instruments and control mechanisms make this rapid flight also difficult to predict for the enemy. In addition, the RS-12M2 missile carries a whole range of missile defense breakthrough capabilities, more than the American MX with 10 warheads. Finally, according to Western sources, a maneuvering warhead has been created for the Topol-M (Russian sources do not contain such information); If this is true, then Topol-M represents a major breakthrough in the ability to penetrate missile defenses.

However, Topol-M is apparently not an ideal complex; reliance on it appears to be largely due to a lack of alternatives. During the discussion around the START II treaty, numerous publications revealed its shortcomings. According to this information, Topol has a relatively low speed and low protection, which limits its ability to escape from an attack with a short warning time and makes it vulnerable to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion, such as a shock wave. Although Topol-M, apparently, has been improved, its weight and dimensions are close to those of Topol, and this puts objective limits on the way to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings.

Tactical and technical characteristics of RS-12M2 "Topol-M" (Russia)

Russian Civilization

The development of the Topol 15Zh58 (RS-12M) strategic mobile complex with a three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile suitable for placement on a self-propelled vehicle chassis (based on the RT-2P solid-fuel ICBM) was started at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering under the leadership of Alexander Nadiradze in 1975. The government decree on the development of the complex was issued on July 19, 1977. After the death of A. Nadiradze, work was continued under the leadership of Boris Lagutin. The mobile Topol was supposed to be a response to increasing the accuracy of American ICBMs. It was necessary to create a complex with increased survivability, achieved not by building reliable shelters, but by creating vague ideas among the enemy about the location of the missile.

By the end of autumn 1983, a pilot series of new missiles, designated RT-2PM, was built. On December 23, 1983, flight development tests began at the Plesetsk training ground. During the entire period of their implementation, only one launch was unsuccessful. In general, the rocket showed high reliability. Combat units of the entire DBK were also tested there. In December 1984, the main series of tests was completed. However, there was a delay in the development of some elements of the complex that are not directly related to the rocket. The entire test program was successfully completed in December 1988.

The decision to begin mass production of the complexes was made in December 1984. Serial production began in 1985.

In 1984, the construction of stationary structures and the equipment of combat patrol routes for Topol mobile missile systems began. The construction objects were located in the position areas of the RT-2P and UR-100 intercontinental ballistic missiles being removed from duty and located in the OS silos. Later, the arrangement of position areas of the Pioneer medium-range complexes removed from service under the INF Treaty began.

In order to gain experience in operating the new complex in military units, in 1985 it was decided to deploy the first missile regiment in Yoshkar-Ola, without waiting for the full completion of the joint testing program. On July 23, 1985, the first regiment of mobile Topols took up combat duty near Yoshkar-Ola at the site of the deployment of RT-2P missiles. Later, the Topols entered service with the division stationed near Teykovo, which was previously armed with the UR-100 (8K84) ICBM.

On April 28, 1987, a missile regiment armed with Topol complexes with a Barrier mobile command post took up combat duty near Nizhny Tagil. PKP "Barrier" has a multiple protected redundant radio command system. The mobile launcher of the Barrier PKP carries a combat control missile. After the missile is launched, its transmitter gives the command to launch the ICBM.

On December 1, 1988, the new missile system was officially adopted by the USSR Strategic Missile Forces. In the same year, the full-scale deployment of missile regiments with the Topol complex began and the simultaneous removal of obsolete ICBMs from combat duty. On May 27, 1988, the first regiment of the Topol ICBM with an improved Granit PKP and an automated control system began combat duty near Irkutsk.

By mid-1991, 288 missiles of this type were deployed. In 1999, the Strategic Missile Forces were armed with 360 launchers of the Topol missile systems. They were on duty in ten position areas. Four to five regiments are based in each district. Each regiment is armed with nine autonomous launchers and a mobile command post.

The Topol missile divisions were deployed near the cities of Barnaul, Verkhnyaya Salda (Nizhny Tagil), Vypolzovo (Bologoe), Yoshkar-Ola, Teykovo, Yurya, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Irkutsk, as well as near the village of Drovyanaya in the Chita region. Nine regiments (81 launchers) were deployed in missile divisions on the territory of Belarus - near the cities of Lida, Mozyr and Postavy. After the collapse of the USSR, some of the Topols remained outside Russia, on the territory of Belarus. On August 13, 1993, the withdrawal of the Topol Strategic Missile Forces group from Belarus began and was completed on November 27, 1996.

In the west, the complex received the designation SS-25 "Sickle".

Compound

The RT-2PM missile is designed according to a design with three sustainer and combat stages. To ensure high energy-mass perfection and increase the firing range, a new high-density fuel with a specific impulse increased by several units was used in all sustainer stages compared to the fillers of previously created engines, and the housings of the upper stages were for the first time made of continuous winding from organoplastic according to the “cocoon” pattern ". The most difficult technical task turned out to be the placement on the front bottom of the body of the upper stage of the thrust cut-off unit with eight reversible bells and “windows”, cut through by detonating elongated charge (DUS) in an organoplastic power structure.

The first stage of the rocket consists of a sustainer solid propellant rocket engine and a tail section, on the outer surface of which aerodynamic rudders and stabilizers are located. The main engine has one fixed nozzle. The second stage structurally consists of a connecting compartment and a main solid propellant rocket engine. The third stage has almost the same design, but it additionally includes a transition compartment to which the head part is attached.

An autonomous, inertial control system was developed at NPO Automation and Instrumentation under the leadership of Vladimir Lapygin. The aiming system was developed under the leadership of the chief designer of the Kyiv Arsenal plant, Seraphim Parnyakov. The inertial control system has its own digital computer, which made it possible to achieve high shooting accuracy. According to domestic sources, the circular probable deviation (CPD) when firing at the maximum range is 400m, according to Western sources - 150-200m. The control system provides missile flight control, routine maintenance on the missile and launcher, pre-launch preparation and launch of the missile without turning the launcher. All pre-launch preparation and launch operations are fully automated.

"Topol" is equipped with a set of means to overcome missile defense. The rocket's flight is controlled by rotary gas-jet and lattice aerodynamic rudders. New nozzle devices for solid fuel engines have been created. To ensure secrecy, camouflage, decoy systems, and camouflage means have been developed. Like previous mobile complexes of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, Topol can be launched both from a combat patrol route and while parked in garage shelters with a retractable roof. To do this, the launcher is hung on jacks. Combat readiness from the moment the order was received until the missile was launched was brought to two minutes. Mobile and stationary command posts were developed for the new complexes. The mobile command post for combat control of the Topol ICBM is located on the basis of a four-axle MAZ-543M vehicle. To control the fire, mobile command posts "Barrier" and "Granit" were also used, equipped with a missile, with a transmitter instead of a combat load, which, after launching the missile, duplicated the start command for the launchers located in positional areas.

During operation, the missile is located in a transport and launch container installed on a mobile launcher. It is mounted on the basis of a seven-axle chassis of a MAZ heavy-duty vehicle. The rocket is launched from a vertical position using a powder pressure accumulator placed in a transport and launch container.

The launcher (see diagram) was developed at the Volgograd Central Design Bureau "Titan" under the leadership of Valerian Sobolev and Viktor Shurygin. The launcher is mounted on the chassis of a seven-axle tractor MAZ-7912 (later MAZ-7917 with a 14x12 wheel arrangement. This vehicle from the 80s is equipped with a 710 hp diesel engine) from the Minsk Automobile Plant with an engine from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. Chief designer of the rocket carrier Vladimir Tsvyalev. Solid propellant engine charges were developed at the Lyubertsy NPO Soyuz under the leadership of Boris Zhukov (later the association was headed by Zinovy ​​Pak). Composite materials and the container were developed and manufactured at the Central Research Institute of Special Engineering under the leadership of Viktor Protasov. The steering hydraulic drives of the rocket and the hydraulic drives of the self-propelled launcher were developed at the Moscow Central Research Institute of Automation and Hydraulics. The nuclear warhead was created at the All-Union Research Institute of Experimental Physics under the leadership of chief designer Samvel Kocharyants.

Initially, the warranty period for the rocket's operation was set at 10 years. Later the warranty period was extended to 15 years. The mobile command post for combat control of the Topol ICBM was located on the chassis of a four-axle MAZ-543M vehicle. To control the fire, mobile command posts "Barrier" and "Granit" were also used, equipped with a missile, with a transmitter instead of a combat load, which, after launching the missile, duplicated the start command for the launchers located in positional areas.

Performance characteristics

Testing and operation

The Topol PGRK entered testing in February 1983. The first launch took place on February 8 at the Plesetsk test site. This and two subsequent launches were made from converted silos of stationary RT-2P missiles. One launch ended unsuccessfully.

Each year, one control launch of the Topol rocket is carried out from the Plesetsk test site. The high reliability of the complex is evidenced by the fact that during its testing and operation, about fifty control and test launches of missiles were carried out. All of them went without a hitch.

November 29, 2005 A combat training launch of the mobile-based RS-12M Topol ICBM was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the direction of the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. A training missile warhead hit a simulated target at a training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula with specified accuracy. The main purpose of the launch is to check the reliability of the equipment. The missile remained on combat duty for 20 years. This is the first time in the practice of not only domestic, but also global rocket science - a solid-fuel rocket that has been in operation for so many years has been successfully launched.

A conversion space launch vehicle "Start" was developed on the basis of the Topol ICBM. Launches of Start rockets are carried out from the Plesetsk and Svobodny cosmodromes.

PGRK "Topol" on the march / Photo: Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry

Formations of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces), stationed in the Central and Western Military Districts, are practicing combat duty tasks (CDT) at field positions (FP). This was reported to TASS by the official representative of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel Igor Egorov.

“Strategic missile specialists will work on the issues of bringing missile systems to field positions, dispersing units with changing field positions, engineering equipment for positions, organizing camouflage and combat security.”

“About 10 missile regiments equipped with Topol-M complexes are located on combat patrol routes,” he specified.

According to the official representative of the Strategic Missile Forces, strategic missilemen will work on the issues of bringing missile systems to field positions, dispersing units with changing field positions, engineering equipment for positions, organizing camouflage and combat security. In addition, anti-sabotage formations will work on detecting, blocking and destroying conditional saboteurs. The rocketeers will also perform simulated missile launches.

The units will carry out combat duty at field positions for up to 32 days, in conditions as close as possible to combat ones.

As Egorov noted, by the end of the year, the Strategic Missile Forces will conduct more than 40 headquarters and about 20 command-staff trainings, about 10 command-staff exercises, about 50 tactical and tactical-special exercises.

Technical information

On May 29, 2007, at the Plesetsk training ground, the first test launch of the RS-24 was carried out at the Kura training ground.

On December 25, 2007, at the Plesetsk training ground, the second test launch of the RS-24 was carried out at the Kura training ground.

On November 26, 2008, the third test launch of the RS-24 was carried out at the Plesetsk test site at the Kura test site.

Various information was provided about the timing of the completion of state tests of the RS-24 Yars ICBM: some said the completion of the testing in 2010, while other sources ( chief designer of the complex) reported that the GIs were completed at the end of 2009, which is apparently due to the difference in the timing of the actual completion of the state testing program and the timing of completing the relevant documents and eliminating the comments identified at the GI stage.

Deployment

At the end of 2009, the Russian military-industrial complex supplied Strategic Missile Forces(Strategic Missile Forces) the first combat unit of the RS-24 Yars mobile missile systems equipped with multiple warheads. In July 2010, the fact of deployment of the first RS-24 unit was officially confirmed by Deputy Minister of Defense V.A. Popovkin.

The second division with the RS-24 Yars missile system was put on experimental combat duty in Teykov missile division(Ivanovo region) in December 2010. The first regiment, armed with the Yars mobile missile system, was transferred to combat duty On March 4, 2011, as part of two RS-24 divisions, which had been on experimental combat duty since 2010.

In the summer of 2011, the first missile regiment, armed with the Yars PGRK in the Teikovsky missile formation, was brought to full strength (3 divisions, 9 APU). On December 7, 2011, in the same division, the second RS-24 Yars regiment was put on experimental combat duty as part of a mobile command post (MCP) of the regiment and one missile division. The second division of this regiment was put on duty at the end of December 2011, so by the beginning of 2012 the total number of deployed RS-24s was 15 APUs with missiles. In September 2012, the re-equipment of this regiment with mobile Yars was completed, and the total number of RS-24 Yars automatic launchers was brought to 18 (2 regiments, 6 divisions).

At the end of 2012, work began on re-equipping the Novosibirsk and Kozelsky (mine version of the complex, Kaluga region) missile formations to this complex. In 2013, the Strategic Missile Forces plans to continue the rearmament of the Novosibirsk and Kozelsky missile formations, and the rearmament of the missile regiments is almost completed Tagil missile division. In addition, it is planned to begin preparatory work for rearmament Irkutsk missile division.

On the night of December 24-25, 2013, a test launch of a silo-based RS-24 Yars ICBM with a multiple warhead was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The launch was successful. The missile's warheads hit targets at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka.

As of the beginning of 2014, the Strategic Missile Forces were armed with 33 mobile-based RS-24 missiles with four warheads each.

On April 14, 2014 at 10:40 Moscow time at the Plesetsk cosmodrome, an RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a multiple warhead was launched from a mobile launcher. The launch was carried out in the interests of protecting a batch of missiles manufactured in Votkinsk (control and serial tests). According to official sources, the launch objectives were completed in full.

On December 26 at 11:02 Moscow time, a test launch of a mobile ground-based missile was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome; training warheads hit targets at the Kura training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

MRK SN (strategic intercontinental missile system) "Topol-M" (SS-X-27, "Sickle" according to NATO classification) with the RS-12M2 missile (RT-2PM2, 15Zh65) is the result of further modernization of the Topol missile system ( SS-25). This complex was entirely created by Russian enterprises.

Work on the creation of a new missile system began in the mid-1980s. The resolution of the Military-Industrial Commission dated September 09, 1989 ordered the creation of two missile systems (mobile and stationary), as well as a universal three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. This development work was given the name “Universal”, and the complex under development was given the designation RT-2PM2. The complex was jointly developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering and Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk).

The missile was supposed to be unified for both complexes, however, in the original design, a difference was assumed in the warhead breeding system. For a silo-based missile, the combat stage had to be equipped with a liquid jet engine using the promising PRONIT monopropellant. For the mobile complex, MIT developed a solid propellant propulsion system. There were also differences in the transport and launch container (TPC). In the mobile version, the TPK was supposed to be made of fiberglass, in the stationary version - from metal, with a number of ground equipment systems mounted on it. Therefore, the rocket for the mobile complex was assigned the index 15Zh55, for the stationary complex - 15Zh65.

In March 1992, it was decided to develop the Topol-M complex on the basis of Universal (Yuzhnoye Design Bureau stopped participating in work on this complex in April). On February 27, 1993, the President of the Russian Federation signed a corresponding decree (this date is considered the beginning of work on Topol-M). This decree appointed MIT as the lead enterprise for the development of Topol-M, and guaranteed funding for the work.

In fact, it was necessary to develop a universal missile based on the types of deployment. At the same time, in both silo and mobile versions, the missile had to have high combat capabilities, high fire accuracy and be capable of long-term combat duty in different degrees of readiness. In addition, it had to be highly resistant to damaging factors during flight and overcome the missile defense of a potential enemy.

APU of the RT-2PM2 / RS-12M2 "Topol-M" complex with the Yars ICBM TPK during a parade rehearsal in Moscow, 04/26/2011. Previously it was believed that this was the Yars APU (photo - Vitaly Kuzmin, http:/ /vitalykuzmin.net/)

The missile for the Topol-M MRK was created as a modernization of the RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile. The conditions for modernization were determined by the START I Treaty. According to this document, a rocket can be considered new if it differs from its analogue in one of the following characteristics:
- number of steps;
- type of fuel for any stage;
- the starting mass differs by more than 10 percent;
- the length of the assembled rocket without the warhead (warhead), or the length of the first stage of the rocket differs by more than 10 percent;
- the diameter of the first stage differs by more than 5 percent;
- throw weight of more than 21 percent combined with a change in first stage length of 5 percent or more.

Due to these limitations, the tactical and technical characteristics of the Topol-M MRK missile could not undergo significant changes, and the main differences from its analogue (RT-2PM) lie in the flight characteristics and stability when penetrating enemy missile defenses. From the very beginning, the warhead was developed taking into account the possibility of rapid modernization in the event of the emergence of operational missile defense systems from a potential enemy. It is possible to install a warhead with multiple warheads with individual guidance.

The Topol-M missile system is unique in many ways and is approximately 1.5 times superior to the previous generation missile system in terms of combat readiness, survivability and maneuverability (in the mobile version), and effectiveness in hitting various targets, even in the face of enemy opposition. The energy capabilities of the rocket ensure an increase in throw weight, a significant decrease in the altitude of the active part of the flight path, as well as effective penetration of a promising missile defense system.

When developing the Topol-M MRK, the latest achievements of domestic rocketry and science were used. For the first time, a new experimental testing system was used during tests with high standard operating conditions of units and systems of the missile complex. This has dramatically reduced traditional testing volume and reduced costs without sacrificing reliability.

The complex is a monoblock three-stage solid-fuel rocket housed in a transport and launch container. The missile's lifespan in it is at least 15 years, with a total service life of at least 20 years. Among the features of the complex:
- the ability to use existing silo launchers without significant costs (only the system of attaching the container to the missile changes). Silo launchers are used, which are exempt from missiles being removed from service, and launchers in accordance with the START-2 treaty;
- increased, compared to Topol, firing accuracy, vulnerability of missiles during flight from the effects of air defense systems (including nuclear) and readiness for launch;
- the ability of missiles to maneuver during flight;
- immunity to electromagnetic pulses;
- compatibility with existing control, communication and support systems.

The 15Zh65 (RT-2PM2) rocket has 3 sustainer stages with powerful solid propellant power plants. The rocket's sustainer stages have a one-piece "cocoon" body made of composite material. The 15Zh65, unlike the Topol, does not have lattice stabilizers and rudders. Flight control is carried out by a central partially recessed rotary nozzle of the propulsion engines of the three stages of the rocket. The nozzles of the propulsion engines are made of carbon-carbon material. A three-dimensionally reinforced oriented carbon-carbon matrix is ​​used for the nozzle liners.

The launch weight of the rocket is more than 47 tons. The total length of the rocket is 22.7 meters, and without the head part the length is 17.5 meters. The maximum diameter of the rocket body (first stage) is 1.86 meters. The mass of the head part is 1.2 tons. The length of the first stage is 8.04 meters, the weight of the fully loaded stage is 28.6 tons, the operating time is 60 seconds. The thrust of the first stage solid rocket motor at sea level is 890 kN. The diameter of the second and third stages is 1.61 and 1.58 meters, respectively. The operating time of the stages is 64 and 56 seconds, respectively. Three solid-propellant propulsion engines ensure rapid acceleration, reducing the missile's vulnerability in the acceleration phase, and modern control systems and dozens of auxiliary engines provide maneuver in flight, making the trajectory difficult to predict for the enemy.

A monoblock thermonuclear detachable warhead with a thermonuclear 550-kiloton warhead, unlike strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles of another type, can be quickly replaced by a warhead with multiple independently targetable warheads with a capacity of 150 kilotons. In addition, the Topol-M missile can be equipped with a maneuvering warhead. The new nuclear warhead, according to media reports, can overcome the US missile defense system, which is confirmed by the results of tests of the complex (November 21, 2005) with a new warhead. The probability of overcoming American missile defense is currently 60-65 percent, in the future - more than 80.

It should be noted that when creating the ICBM warhead, the technologies and developments obtained during the creation of the warhead for the Topol were used to the maximum, which made it possible to reduce the cost and shorten the development time. The new warhead, despite such unification, is significantly more resistant to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and the action of weapons that are based on new physical principles, compared to its predecessor, has a lower specific gravity, and also has more advanced safety mechanisms during transportation, storage and while on combat duty. The warhead has an increased efficiency of fissile materials. This warhead was created without testing components and parts during full-scale explosions (a first for the domestic military industry).

The 15Zh65 missile is equipped with a complex of missile defense breakthrough systems (KSP ABM), which includes passive and active decoys, as well as means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead. False targets are indistinguishable from warheads in all ranges of electromagnetic radiation (laser, optical, radar, infrared). They make it possible to imitate the characteristics of BBs according to almost all selecting characteristics in all sections of the descending branch of their flight trajectory, are resistant to PFYA, etc. These decoys are the first that can withstand super-resolution radar stations. Means for distorting the characteristics of the warhead consist of a radio-absorbing coating, aerosol sources of infrared radiation, active radio interference generators, and so on.

The 15Zh65 missile can be operated as part of a stationary (15P065) or mobile (15P165) ballistic missile system. In this case, for the stationary version, silo missile launchers are used, which are removed from service or destroyed in accordance with START-2. A stationary group is created by converting silo launchers 15P735 and 15P718.

The 15P065 combat stationary silo missile system includes 10 15Zh65 missiles in 15P765-35 launchers, as well as one unified 15V222 high-security type CP (placed in the silo on a suspension using special shock absorption). Work on the conversion of silo 15P735 to accommodate Topol-M missiles was carried out under the leadership of Dmitry Dragun at the Vympel Design Bureau.

During combat duty, the 15Zh65 missile is housed in a metal TPK. The transport and launch container is unified for various types of silos and combines the functions of a transport and reloading machine and an installer. The transport and installation unit was developed at the Motor design bureau.

Mobile-based intercontinental ballistic missiles "Topol-M" are deployed as part of the 15P165 complex. The mobile-based missile is housed in a high-strength fiberglass transport and launch container on an MZKT-79221 (MAZ-7922) all-terrain chassis with eight axles from the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. Structurally, the TPK is practically no different from the mine version. The launcher and its adaptation to the tractor were carried out by the Titan Design Bureau. Serial production of launchers is carried out at the Volgograd production association "Barricades". The mass of the launcher is 120 tons, width - 3.4 meters, length - 22 meters. Six of the eight pairs of wheels are rotary (the first and last three axles), which provides exceptional maneuverability for such dimensions (the turning radius, for example, is only 18 meters) and cross-country ability. The ground pressure is half that of a conventional truck. The launcher engine is a 12-cylinder V-shaped 800-horsepower YaMZ-847 diesel engine with turbocharging. The depth of the ford is 1.1 meters. When creating 15P165 units and systems, several fundamentally new technologies were used. decisions. For example, the partial suspension system makes it possible to deploy the Topol-M launcher on soft soils. The maneuverability and maneuverability of the installation have been improved, increasing its survivability. "Topol-M" can launch missiles from any point in the positional area and has improved camouflage means against optical and other reconnaissance means.

The characteristics of the Topol-M missile system make it possible to significantly increase the readiness of strategic missile forces to carry out combat missions in various conditions, ensure secrecy, maneuverability and survivability of individual launchers, units and units, as well as autonomous operation and reliability of control during for a long time (without replenishment of material resources). Aiming accuracy has been almost doubled, the accuracy of determining geodetic data has been increased by one and a half times, and the launch preparation time has been halved.

The re-equipment of units of the strategic missile forces is carried out using the existing infrastructure. Stationary and mobile versions are fully compatible with existing communications and combat control systems.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the 15Zh65 rocket:
Maximum firing range – 11000 km;
Number of steps – 3;
Launch weight – 47.1 t (47.2 t);
Throwing weight – 1.2 t;
The length of the rocket without the warhead is 17.5 m (17.9 m);
Rocket length - 22.7 m;
Maximum case diameter – 1.86 m;
Warhead type – nuclear, monoblock;
Warhead equivalent – ​​0.55 Mt;
Circular probable deviation – 200 m;
The diameter of the TPK (without protruding parts) is 1.95 m (for 15P165 – 2.05 m).

Performance characteristics of MZKT-79221 (MAZ-7922):
Wheel formula – 16x16;
Turning radius – 18 m;
Ground clearance – 475 mm;
Loaded weight – 40 tons (without combat equipment);
Load capacity – 80 t;
Maximum speed – 45 km/h;
Power reserve – 500 km.

Prepared based on materials:
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru
http://www.arms-expo.ru
http://www.kap-yar.ru
http://army.lv
http://military-informer.narod.ru