RS-28 Sarmat

The RS-28 Sarmat (Russian: РС-28 Сармат, after the Sarmat Eurasian region; NATO reporting name: SS-X-30 SATAN 2), is a Russian liquid-fueled, MIRV-equipped, super-heavy thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile in development by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau from 2009, intended to replace the previous R-36 missile. Its large payload would allow for up to 10 heavy warheads or 15 lighter ones or up to 24 hypersonic glide vehicles Yu-71/Yu-74, or a combination of warheads and massive amounts of countermeasures designed to defeat anti-missile systems; it was heralded by the Russian military as a response to the U.S. Prompt Global Strike. It is suspected to have a Fractional Orbital Bombardment (FOBS) capability.It will replace the R-36 icbm.

In February 2014, a Russian military official announced the Sarmat was expected to be ready for deployment around 2020. In May that year another official source suggested that the program was being accelerated and that it would, in his opinion, constitute up to 100 percent of Russia's fixed land-based nuclear arsenal by 2021. At the end of June 2015, it was reported that the production schedule for the first prototype of the Sarmat was slipping. The RS-28 Sarmat was expected to become operational in 2016. On 10 August 2016, Russia successfully tested the RS-28's first-stage engine named PDU-99 "ПДУ-99". The first image of this new missile was declassified and unveiled in October 2016. In early 2017, prototype missiles had been reportedly built and delivered to Plesetsk for trials but the test program was being delayed to re-check key hardware components before initial launch. Apparently, it will receive the NATO designation SS-30 Satan 2 when operational.