Russia successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile in an effort to modernize its nuclear forces. "This is the world's most powerful missile" - President Putin said about the Sarmat missile on May 12.
He also said that the combined power of the warheads capable of attacking independent targets of this missile is more than 4 times greater than any equivalent model of the West.
Mr. Putin informed that the Sarmat nuclear missile will be put into actual combat at the end of this year. This type of missile was developed to replace the Voyevoda model manufactured from the Soviet era.
RS-28 Sarmat, called "Satan II" by the West, is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - a ground-launched guided missile designed to carry nuclear weapons, with a minimum range of 5,500km.
This missile was developed in 2011 and will replace about 40 Voyevoda missiles.
A Sarmat missile test in September 2024 is said to have ended with a huge explosion.
After the launch test on May 12, Mr. Putin said that Sarmat has the same power as Voyevoda but with higher accuracy.
According to the April 2024 report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based research organization, the maximum payload of Sarmat is 10 tons. CSIS added that Sarmat is 35.3m long, 3m in diameter and weighs 208.1 tons.
According to a 2018 news report by Russia's TASS news agency, Mr. Putin once said that Sarmat reaches high speeds very quickly and stops burning the engine earlier than traditional intercontinental ballistic missiles. This gives missile defense systems less time and opportunities to detect, track and intercept.
On May 12, President Putin declared that the Sarmat missile has a maximum range of more than 35,000km, far exceeding all Western rivals and can "penetrate all existing and future missile defense systems".
However, Western analysts estimate the maximum actual firing range of the Sarmat to be around 18,000km.
The range that Mr. Putin gave is almost equivalent to a circle around the Earth. That means, in theory, this missile can attack almost any target in the world.
The Russian President also said that Sarmat has the ability to fly close to orbit, meaning it can reach space but is not fast enough to maintain orbit or complete a rotation around Earth.
Whether according to the range offered by Russia or the West's assessment, Sarmat is capable of reaching any city in the US from Russian territory and further. For easy visualization, the distance from Moscow to New York is about 7,500km, and to Phoenix city in Arizona is about 9,700km.
