"Satan" vs. "Peacemaker": Intercontinental ballistic missile. “Voevoda” (missile): characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile The most powerful nuclear weapon Voevode

Threat of use nuclear weapons from the “partner” side by “ cold war", his creation of an ever-expanding missile defense system, was a challenge to which the USSR was obliged to respond.

In the seventies of the last century, a strategic complex was created, where the main element was the R-36 Satan ballistic missile, classified by NATO as the SS-18 “Satan”.

"Satan" is able to destroy enemy protected targets.

Protected by a missile defense system, including the framework of a retaliatory strike after repeated use of nuclear weapons.

Until now, foreign weapons have not been able to even come close to achieving the parameters they have combat characteristics Satan.

Historical reference

Research work on the P-36M Satan was carried out by specialists from the Yuzhnoye design bureau (KB) in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. The Ukrainian city has now been renamed Dnepr.

this year work began on the RS "Satan"

At the same time, the engineers did not modernize the existing R-36 Voevoda, but applied new solutions that meet the requirements for security and effectiveness of weapons:

• placement of the launcher and launch control point in premises with maximum protection;
• autonomous missile control system;
• minimum time for pre-launch preparation and launch;
• remote pre-launch programming of targets from the control room;
• increased survivability of the entire missile system;
• the cruising speed of the Satan missile has been increased;
• the ability of the SS-18 to overcome barriers created by the enemy’s missile defense system;
• a start that does not make it possible to fix the location;
• breakthrough in the maximum radius, accuracy of hitting targets;
• resistance to consequences close to the placement of the installation, nuclear explosion (gamma, beta, x-rays).

The finished product was tested at Baikonur in the winter of 1973. Improvements continued until the fall of 1975, but the need to protect the country from possible aggression forced the R-36M to be put on duty already in 1974.

Subsequently, the SS-18 missile was constantly modernized. For example, the missile's carrier part and warhead were modified. After testing in the late seventies, the Satan ballistic missile was replaced by the R36M ICBM.

The performance characteristics of Satan were refined and improved, where the control system had more advanced characteristics, the warhead was divided into ten warheads of 0.55 Mt each, with a damage radius of up to 300.0 thousand square meters. km, flight speed up to 2.5 km/s, each.

Design of the Satan ballistic missile

The design of the SS-18, including the placement of the main components and assemblies, has the following features:

• two-stage, with stages separated in sequential order;
• fuel and oxidizer are located in adjacent tanks separated by a partition;
• control cables, pneumatic and hydraulic control systems are routed along the body and protected by a special casing;
• the first stage is equipped with four liquid-propellant rocket engines, fuel is supplied in a closed cycle, while the engines are autonomous;
• flight control is carried out by an autonomous control system;
• the second stage is equipped with a propulsion and four-chamber rocket engine that controls the flight path;
• to increase the protective qualities, when the enemy uses nuclear weapons, where the missile is launched, the body is covered with a special black heat-protective compound;
• pre-installed sensors monitor the level of aggressive radiation, and if present, turn off all control systems, but when leaving this zone, they automatically turn on, the control system makes adjustments to the trajectory to achieve the target target.

The new Satan rocket, the characteristics of which were demonstrated high performance hit accuracy are ensured by inertial control system based on on-board computing equipment, it became the main weapon of the Strategic Missile Forces. The radius of destruction of Satan, which became known to NATO, cooled the hot heads of the “hawks”.

Satan rocket engine

The engines and fuel supply system of the rocket were created on the basis of the latest, at that time, developments of the country's leading design bureaus:

• the use of chemical pressurization of fuel tanks;
• braking of a separated stage by boost gases;
• equipment of the first and second stages with propulsion and independent control engines;
• principle of managing separated combat units;
• operation of engines using nitrogen tetroxide fuel and others.

For the first stage, the RD-264 propulsion unit was used, which was assembled from four RD-263 elements. The second stage was equipped with an RD-0228 main propulsion unit. During testing, all engine samples showed results that excluded malfunctions and failures of control systems.

It should be noted that a new method of launching missiles was introduced, which eliminates the detection of missile defense on the ground. The rocket engines were launched at the bottom of the shaft, and due to the accumulation of exhaust gases, at launch the rocket was “shot” to a considerable height. This made it possible to perceive the launch as the flight of a low-flying aircraft.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Satan missile (TTX)

Classification	R-36M Voevoda			R-36M UTTH	R-36M2
NATO code	SS-18 Mod 1 "Satan"	SS-18 Mod 3 "Satan"	SS-18 Mod 2 "Satan"	SS-18 Mod 4 "Satan"	SS-18 Mod 5 "Satan"	SS-18 Mod 6 "Satan"
According to the NSV agreement	RS-20A			RS-20B	RS-20V
Range, thousand km	11.2	16.0	10.5	11.0	16.0	11.0
Error, m	500.0	500.0	500.0	300.0	220.0	220.0
Ready to launch, sec	62.0
Curb weight at launch, tons	209.2	208.3	210.4	211.1	211.1	211.4
Length, m	Information not available	Information not available	33.65	34.3	Information not available	34.3
Diameter, m	3.0
Warhead weight, tons	6.565	5.727	7.823	8.470	8.470	8.800
Charge. Power. MT	18.0/2.0/25.0	8.0	10X0.5	8Х1.3	8.0	10X0.8

Note: Information obtained from open sources.

The fourth-generation R-36M2 Voevoda (15P018M) missile system with the 15A18M heavy-class multi-purpose intercontinental missile was developed at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Dnepropetrovsk) under the leadership of Academician V.F. Utkin in accordance with the tactical and technical requirements of the USSR Ministry of Defense and by the Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated 08/09/83, the Voevoda complex was created as a result of the implementation of a project to improve the complex strategic purpose heavy class R-36M (15P018) and is designed to destroy all types of targets protected by modern missile defense systems in any conditions combat use, incl. with repeated nuclear impact on a positional area (guaranteed retaliatory strike).

Flight design tests of the R-36M2 complex began at Baikonur in 1986. The first missile regiment with the R-36M2 ICBM went on combat duty on July 30, 1988 (UAH Dombarovsky, commander O.I. Karpov). By decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated August 11, 1988, the missile system was adopted for service.

Testing the complex with all types combat equipment ended in September 1989.

Missiles of this type are the most powerful of all intercontinental missiles. In terms of technological level, the complex has no analogues among foreign Republics of Kazakhstan. The high level of tactical and technical characteristics makes it a reliable basis for strategic nuclear forces in solving the problems of maintaining military-strategic parity. Until recently, the Republic of Kazakhstan was the base for creating asymmetric measures to counter a multi-echelon missile defense system with space-based elements.

Under the leadership of the chief designer of the Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau (Kolomna) N.I. Gushchin, a complex (complex 171) was created for the active protection of the Strategic Missile Forces silos from nuclear warheads and high-altitude non-nuclear weapons, and for the first time in the country, low-altitude non-nuclear interception of high-speed ballistic targets was carried out.

As of 1998, 58 R-36M2 missiles (NATO designation) were deployed SS-18 "Satan" mod.5&6,RS-20V).

Compound

In order to ensure a qualitatively new level of performance characteristics and high combat effectiveness in especially difficult conditions combat use, the development of the Voevoda missile system was carried out in the following directions:

• further increase in survivability of PU and CP;
• ensuring sustainability combat control in all conditions of application of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
• expansion of operational capabilities for retargeting missiles, incl. firing at unplanned target designations;
• ensuring the missile's resistance in flight to the damaging factors of ground-based and high-altitude nuclear explosions;
• increasing the autonomy of the complex;
• increasing the warranty period.

One of the main advantages of the created RK is the ability to support missile launches in conditions of a retaliatory strike when exposed to ground-based and high-altitude nuclear weapons. This was achieved by increasing the survivability of the rocket in the silo and significantly increasing the resistance of the rocket in flight to the damaging factors of nuclear weapons (the rocket body is of a wafer-welded design made of AMg-6 NPP with a multifunctional coating, circuit-algorithmic protection of the control system equipment from gamma radiation during nuclear weapons has been introduced and 2 times faster performance executive bodies automatic stabilization control system, separation of the head fairing after passing through the zone of high-altitude blocking nuclear weapons, boosting the thrust of the engines of the first and second stages of the rocket, increasing the durability of systems and elements (see photo1, photo2, photo3, photo4).

As a result, the radius of the missile's impact zone with blocking nuclear weapons, compared to the 15A18 missile, is reduced by 20 times, resistance to X-ray radiation is increased by 10 times, and to gamma-neutron radiation by 100 times. The missile's resistance to the effects of dust formations and large soil particles present in the cloud during ground-based nuclear weapons is ensured.

The effectiveness, flexibility and efficiency of the combat use of the complex has been significantly increased due to:

• increasing accuracy by 1.3 times;
• use of high-power charges;
• increasing the area of ​​the warhead disengagement zone by 2.3 times;
• the possibility of launching from the constant combat readiness mode according to one of the planned target designations, as well as operational retargeting and launching according to any unplanned target designation transmitted from the highest echelon of control;
• 3 times increase in battery life;
• reducing the combat readiness time by 2 times.

As a result of the introduction of progressive technical solutions the energy capabilities of the missile are increased by 12% compared to the 15A18 missile, subject to the conditions of size and launch weight restrictions imposed by the SALT-2 Treaty.

The development of the RK (see diagram) was carried out on the basis of the created infrastructure of the 15P018 complex that preceded it. At the same time, existing engineering structures, communications and systems were used to the maximum extent. A highly effective multi-purpose missile using liquid high-boiling propellant components, fully ampulized, designed to destroy critical targets located in the range from medium to intercontinental.

The missile (see photo) was developed in the dimensions and launch weight of the 15A18 missile according to a two-stage design with a sequential arrangement of stages and a system for breeding elements of combat equipment. The rocket retains diagrams of the launch, stage separation, warhead separation, and separation of weapons elements, which showed high level technical excellence and reliability as part of the 15A18 rocket.

Implemented to ensure a reciprocal launch, the levels of resistance of the missile to PFN ensure its successful launch after a non-destructive nuclear weapon directly at the launcher and without reducing combat readiness when exposed to an adjacent launcher. At the same time, an increase in the energy capabilities of the rocket was achieved due to:

• improving engine performance, introducing optimal scheme turning off the remote control;
• performing the second stage propulsion system in a “recessed” version in the fuel cavity;
• improving aerodynamic characteristics.

The propulsion propulsion system is a four-chamber liquid-propellant engine with rotating combustion chambers that extend into the operating position in flight. The universal liquid propulsion system is operated as part of the missile (unlike the 15A18 missile), which made it possible to carry out complete assembly of the missile in the manufacturing plant, simplify the technology of work at combat facilities, and increase the reliability and safety of operation.

A new one-piece ogive-shaped nose fairing has been developed for the rocket, providing reliable protection of the warhead from PFYVs, incl. from large soil particles, and improved aerodynamic characteristics.

The TTT provided for the combat equipment of the missile with four types of warheads:

• two monoblock warheads with a “heavy” and a “light” warhead;
• MIRV with ten uncontrolled warheads;
• Mixed MIRV consisting of six uncontrolled and four controlled warheads with a homing system based on terrain maps.

The 15F178 guided warhead was developed for mixed MIRVs. Made in the form of a biconical body with minimal aerodynamic resistance. A deflectable conical stabilizer for pitch and yaw and aerodynamic roll rudders were adopted as executive controls for the UBB flight in the atmospheric section. In flight, a stable position of the block's center of pressure was ensured when the angle of attack changed. The orientation and stabilization of the UBB outside the atmosphere was ensured by a jet propulsion unit running on liquefied carbon dioxide.

As part of the combat equipment, highly effective SP missile defense systems (TLC, LLC, DO) have been created, which are placed in special cassettes, and thermally insulating BB covers are used.

The control system is based on two high-performance pulp and paper machines (on-board and ground-based) of a new generation and a high-precision control unit continuously operating during the BD process using an element base with increased resistance to PFYaV. A number of fundamentally new ideas were implemented in the SU:

• ensuring performance after exposure nuclear explosion in flight;
• high-precision individual breeding of warheads;
• “direct” guidance method that does not require a previously prepared flight mission;
• providing remote targeting, etc.

The solution to these problems was provided by a new powerful on-board computer complex using semiconductor “burnable” permanent and electronic random access memory devices. The main element base was developed and manufactured at the Minsk production association "Integral" and provided the required level of radiation resistance. In addition to standard blocks, the on-board complex included, first implemented in the USSR, a block of a specialized storage device on ferrite cores with an internal diameter of 0.4 mm, through which 3 thinner wires were sewn human hair. For one of the types of warheads, a storage device based on cylindrical magnetic domains was developed and, for the first time in the Soviet Union, was flight tested.

Required temperature regime for continuously operating devices is ensured by a newly created heat exchanger (heat discharge into the PU volume).

Combat use was ensured in any weather conditions at air temperatures from -50 to +50°C and wind speeds at the surface of the earth up to 25 m/s, before and under nuclear impact conditions according to the DBK

Performance characteristics

General characteristics
Maximum range firing, km: - with a “heavy” class MIRV - with monoblock head unit	11000 16000
Firing accuracy, km	±0.5
Generalized reliability indicator	0.935
Rocket resistance to PFYA in flight	Level 2 (reciprocal launch is provided)
Launch time from full combat readiness, s	62
Guarantee period of being on combat duty (according to an unregulated scheme for launchers), years	15
Rocket 15A18M
Diameter, m	3
Length, m	34.3
Rocket launch weight, tf: - with MIRV - with a “light” class warhead	211.4 211.1
Head weight, tf: - with 10-block MIRV - with “light” class BB	8.73 8.47
Fuel: - oxidizer - fuel	AT UDMH
Fuel weight, tf: - Stage I - II stage - breeding steps	150.2 37.6 2.1
Flight reliability	0.974
Energy-weight perfection coefficient Gpg/Go, kgf/tf	42.1
Remote control characteristics
Remote control thrust (on the ground/in the void), tf: - Stage I - II stage - breeding steps	468.6/504.9 - / 85.3 - / 1.9
specific impulse of the remote control (on the ground/in vacuum), s: - Stage I - II stage - breeding steps	295.8/318.7 - / 326.5 - / 293.1

Testing and operation

The high combat and operational characteristics of the missile system are confirmed by ground (including physical experience) and flight tests. According to the joint flight test program, 26 launches were carried out at 5 NIIP, of which 20 were successful. The reasons for unsuccessful launches have been established. Circuit design improvements were carried out, which made it possible to eliminate the identified deficiencies and complete flight tests with 11 successful launches. A total of 33 launches were carried out, the actual flight reliability of the rocket based on the totality of launches carried out was 0.974.

During the SLI process, it was decided to exclude “heavy” warheads and mixed MIRVs from the mandatory composition of combat equipment. The warhead with a “heavy” warhead was being prepared for production, but was not subjected to flight tests. A mixed MIRV was tested as part of the 15A18M missile with launches in the Kura area (3 launches). To continue flight testing, two 15A18M missiles, two 8K65MR launch vehicles and a full set of warheads were prepared. However, after 1991 UBB work was closed. The same fate befell the KBU's work on penetrating warheads.

The experimental penetrating unit was created on the basis of the aerodynamic design of the standard BB 15F158U with the participation of VNIIEF (S. N. Lazarev, A. I. Rudakov, V. I. Uvarov). A titanium alloy nasal penetrator was installed in the block. The production of the penetrator was mastered at the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant. Testing was carried out on models by shooting from artillery piece into the ground. Full-scale samples were tested in launches at the Aralsk test site on an 8K63 rocket and in the Kura area on a 15A18 rocket. During the period 1989-1990. LCTs of five blocks were carried out with successful results. However, work on a standard penetrating BB, begun on the basis of accumulated experience, was closed after 1991.

Sources

1. "Called by time. Rockets and spacecraft of the Yuzhnoye design bureau. / Under the general editorship of S.N. Konyukhov /. D.: Art-Press, 2004, -232p.
2. Karpenko A.V., Utkin A.F., Popov A.D. "Domestic strategic missile systems." St. Petersburg, Nevsky Bastion-Gangut 1999.
3. Intercontinental ballistic missile R-36M (15A14) / R-36MU (15A18) / R-36M2 (15A18U)
4. S. Derevyashkin, A. Bogatyrev, “Satan” - daughter of the “Voevoda” “Red Star”. 04/21/2001
5. Launch vehicle "Dnepr" ICS "Kosmotrans"

NATO gave the name “SS-18 “Satan” (“Satan”) to a family of Russian missile systems with a heavy intercontinental ballistic missile ground-based, developed and put into service in the 1970s - 1980s. According to the official Russian classification, these are R-36M, R-36M UTTH, R-36M2, RS-20. And the Americans called this missile “Satan” for the reason that it is difficult to shoot it down, and in the vast territories of the United States and Western Europe These Russian missiles are going to raise hell.

SS-18 “Satan” was created under the leadership of chief designer V.F. Utkin. In terms of its characteristics, this missile surpasses the most powerful American missile, Minuteman-3.

Satan is the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile on Earth. It is intended, first of all, to destroy the most fortified command posts, ballistic missile silos and air bases. The nuclear explosives of one missile can destroy a large city, a very large part of the United States. Hit accuracy is about 200-250 meters.

“The rocket is housed in the most durable silos in the world”; according to initial reports - 2500-4500 psi, some mines - 6000-7000 psi. This means that if there is no direct hit by American nuclear explosives on the mine, the rocket will withstand a powerful blow, the hatch will open and “Satan” will fly out of the ground and rush towards the United States, where in half an hour he will give the Americans hell. And dozens of such missiles will rush towards the United States. And each missile contains ten individually targetable warheads. The power of the warheads is equal to 1,200 bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima. With one strike, the Satan missile can destroy US and Western European facilities over an area of ​​up to 500 square meters. kilometers. And dozens of such missiles will fly towards the United States. This is complete kaput for the Americans. "Satan" penetrates easily American system missile defense.

She was invulnerable in the 80s and continues to be creepy for Americans today. Americans will not be able to create reliable protection against the Russian “Satan” until 2015-2020. But what scares the Americans even more is the fact that the Russians have begun developing even more satanic missiles.

“The SS-18 missile carries 16 platforms, one of which is loaded with decoys. When entering a high orbit, all “Satan” heads go “in a cloud” of false targets and are practically not identified by radars.”

But, even if the Americans see the “Satan” on the final segment of the trajectory, the heads of the “Satan” are practically not vulnerable to anti-missile weapons, because to destroy the “Satan” only a direct hit on the head of a very powerful anti-missile is necessary (and the Americans do not have anti-missiles with such characteristics ). “So such a defeat is very difficult and almost impossible with the level American technology the coming decades. As for the famous laser weapons for damaging heads, the SS-18 has them covered with massive armor with the addition of uranium-238, an extremely heavy and dense metal. Such armor cannot be “burned through” by a laser. In any case, with those lasers that can be built in the next 30 years. Impulses cannot knock down the SS-18 flight control system and its heads electromagnetic radiation, because all control systems of “Satan” are duplicated, in addition to electronic ones, by pneumatic automatic machines”

SATAN - the most powerful nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile

By mid-1988, 308 Satan intercontinental missiles were ready to fly from the underground mines of the USSR towards the United States and Western Europe. “Of the 308 launch mines that existed in the USSR at that time, Russia accounted for 157. The rest were in Ukraine and Belarus.” Each missile has 10 warheads. The power of the warheads is equal to 1,200 bombs dropped by the Americans on Hiroshima. With one strike, the Satan missile can destroy US and Western European facilities over an area of ​​up to 500 square meters. kilometers. And if necessary, three hundred such missiles will fly towards the United States. This is complete kaput for Americans and Western Europeans.

The development of the R-36M strategic missile system with a third-generation heavy intercontinental ballistic missile 15A14 and a silo launcher with increased security 15P714 was led by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. The new missile used all the best developments obtained during the creation of the previous complex, the R-36.

The technical solutions used to create the rocket made it possible to create the world's most powerful combat missile system. It was significantly superior to its predecessor, the R-36:

• in terms of shooting accuracy - 3 times.
• in terms of combat readiness - 4 times.
• in terms of the energy capabilities of the rocket - 1.4 times.
• according to the initially established warranty period of operation - 1.4 times.
• in terms of launcher security - 15-30 times.
• in terms of the degree of utilization of the launcher volume - 2.4 times.

The two-stage R-36M rocket was made according to the “tandem” design with a sequential arrangement of stages. To optimize the use of volume, dry compartments were excluded from the rocket, with the exception of the second stage interstage adapter. The applied design solutions made it possible to increase the fuel supply by 11% while maintaining the diameter and reducing the total length of the first two stages of the rocket by 400 mm compared to the 8K67 rocket.

The first stage uses the RD-264 propulsion system, consisting of four single-chamber 15D117 engines operating in a closed circuit, developed by KBEM ( chief designer- V. P. Glushko). The engines are hinged and their deflection according to commands from the control system provides control of the rocket's flight.

The second stage uses a propulsion system consisting of a main single-chamber 15D7E (RD-0229) engine operating in a closed circuit and a four-chamber steering engine 15D83 (RD-0230) operating in an open circuit.

The rocket's liquid-propellant rocket engines operated on high-boiling two-component self-igniting fuel. Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) was used as a fuel, and dinitrogen tetroxide (AT) was used as an oxidizing agent.

The separation of the first and second stages is gas-dynamic. It was ensured by the actuation of explosive bolts and the outflow of pressurized gases from the fuel tanks through special windows.

Thanks to the improved pneumatic-hydraulic system of the rocket with complete ampulization of fuel systems after refueling and the elimination of leakage of compressed gases from the side of the rocket, it was possible to increase the time spent in full combat readiness to 10-15 years with the potential for operation up to 25 years.

The schematic diagrams of the rocket and control system were developed based on the possibility of using three variants of the warhead:

• Lightweight monoblock with a charge capacity of 8 Mt and a flight range of 16,000 km;
• Heavy monoblock with a charge capacity of 25 Mt and a flight range of 11,200 km;
• Multiple warhead (MIRV) of 8 warheads with a capacity of 1 Mt each;

All missile warheads were equipped with an improved system of means to overcome missile defense. For the first time, quasi-heavy decoys were created for the 15A14 missile defense system to penetrate the missile defense system. Thanks to the use of a special solid-propellant booster engine, the progressively increasing thrust of which compensates for the aerodynamic braking force of the decoy, it was possible to imitate the characteristics of warheads in almost all selectivity characteristics in the extra-atmospheric part of the trajectory and a significant part of the atmospheric part.

One of the technical innovations that largely determined the high level of performance of the new missile system was the use of mortar launch of a missile from a transport and launch container (TPC). For the first time in world practice, a mortar design for a heavy liquid-propelled ICBM was developed and implemented. At launch, the pressure created by the powder pressure accumulators pushed the rocket out of the TPK and only after leaving the silo the rocket engine was started.

The missile, placed at the manufacturing plant in a transport and launch container, was transported and installed in a silo launcher (silo) in an unfuelled state. The rocket was refueled with fuel components and the warhead was docked after installing the TPK with the rocket in the silo. Checks of onboard systems, preparation for launch and launch of the rocket were carried out automatically after the control system received the appropriate commands from a remote command post. To prevent unauthorized launch, the control system accepted for execution only commands with a specific code key. The use of such an algorithm became possible thanks to the implementation at all command posts of the Strategic Missile Forces new system centralized management.

The missile control system is autonomous, inertial, three-channel with multi-tier majority control. Each channel was self-tested. If the commands of all three channels did not match, control was assumed by the successfully tested channel. The on-board cable network (BCN) was considered absolutely reliable and was not defective in tests.

The acceleration of the gyroplatform (15L555) was carried out by forced acceleration automatic machines (AFAs) of digital ground-based equipment (TsNA), and in the first stages of work - by software devices for accelerating the gyroplatform (PURG). On-board digital computer (ONDVM) (15L579) 16-bit, ROM - memory cube. Programming was done in machine codes.

Developer of the control system (including onboard computer) - Design department electrical instrument making (KBE, now JSC Khartron, Kharkov), the on-board computer was produced by the Kiev Radio Plant, the control system was mass-produced at the Shevchenko and Kommunar factories (Kharkov).

The development of the third generation strategic missile system R-36M UTTH (GRAU index - 15P018, START code - RS-20B, according to the US and NATO classification - SS-18 Mod.4) with a 15A18 missile equipped with a 10-block multiple warhead has begun August 16, 1976.

The missile system was created as a result of the implementation of a program to improve and increase the combat effectiveness of the previously developed 15P014 (R-36M) complex. The complex ensures the destruction of up to 10 targets with one missile, including high-strength small-sized or particularly large area targets located on terrain of up to 300,000 km², in conditions of effective counteraction by enemy missile defense systems. Increased efficiency of the new complex was achieved through:

• increasing shooting accuracy by 2-3 times;
• increasing the number of warheads (BB) and the power of their charges;
• increasing the BB breeding area;
• the use of highly protected silo launchers and command posts;
• increasing the probability of bringing launch commands to the silo.

The layout of the 15A18 rocket is similar to the 15A14. This is a two-stage rocket with a tandem arrangement of stages. The new rocket uses the first and second stages of the 15A14 rocket without modifications. The first stage engine is a four-chamber liquid propellant rocket engine RD-264 of a closed design. The second stage uses a single-chamber propulsion rocket engine RD-0229 of a closed circuit and a four-chamber steering rocket engine RD-0257 of an open circuit. The separation of stages and the separation of the combat stage is gas-dynamic.

The main difference of the new missile was the newly developed propagation stage and MIRV with ten new high-speed units with increased power charges. The propulsion stage engine is a four-chamber, dual-mode (thrust 2000 kgf and 800 kgf) with multiple (up to 25 times) switching between modes. This allows you to create the most optimal conditions when disengaging all warheads. Another one design feature This engine has two fixed positions of the combustion chambers. In flight, they are located inside the propulsion stage, but after separation of the stage from the rocket special mechanisms the combustion chambers are brought out beyond the outer contour of the compartment and deployed to implement the “pulling” scheme for disengaging the warheads. The MIR itself is made according to a two-tier design with a single aerodynamic fairing. The memory capacity of the onboard computer was also increased and the control system was modernized to use improved algorithms. At the same time, the shooting accuracy was improved by 2.5 times, and the readiness time for launch was reduced to 62 seconds.

The R-36M UTTH missile in a transport and launch container (TPK) is installed in a silo launcher and is on combat duty in a fueled state in full combat readiness. To load the TPK into a mine structure, SKB MAZ has developed special transport and installation equipment in the form of a semi-trailer high cross-country ability with a tractor based on MAZ-537. The mortar method of launching a rocket is used.

Flight design tests of the R-36M UTTH rocket began on October 31, 1977 at the Baikonur test site. According to the flight test program, 19 launches were carried out, 2 of which were unsuccessful. The reasons for these failures have been identified and eliminated, the effectiveness measures taken confirmed by subsequent launches. A total of 62 launches were carried out, of which 56 were successful.

On September 18, 1979, three missile regiments began combat duty at the new missile complex. As of 1987, 308 R-36M UTTH ICBMs were deployed as part of five missile divisions. As of May 2006, the Strategic Missile Forces included 74 silo launchers with R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 ICBMs, equipped with 10 warheads each.

The high reliability of the complex has been confirmed by 159 launches as of September 2000, of which only four were unsuccessful. These failures during the launch of serial products are due to manufacturing defects.

After the collapse of the USSR and the economic crisis of the early 1990s, the question arose about extending the service life of the R-36M UTTH until they were replaced by new Russian-developed complexes. For this purpose, on April 17, 1997, the R-36M UTTH rocket, manufactured 19.5 years ago, was successfully launched. NPO Yuzhnoye and the 4th Central Research Institute of the Moscow Region carried out work to increase the warranty period of missiles from 10 years successively to 15, 18 and 20 years. On April 15, 1998, a training launch of the R-36M UTTH rocket was carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, during which ten training warheads hit all training targets at the Kura training ground in Kamchatka.

A joint Russian-Ukrainian venture was also created for the development and further commercial use of the Dnepr light-class launch vehicle based on the R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 missiles

On August 9, 1983, by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau was tasked with modifying the R-36M UTTH missile so that it could overcome the promising American missile defense (ABM) system. In addition, it was necessary to increase the protection of the missile and the entire complex from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion.

View of the instrument compartment (expansion stage) of the 15A18M rocket from the warhead side. Elements of the propagation engine are visible (aluminium-colored - fuel and oxidizer tanks, green - spherical cylinders of the displacement supply system), control system instruments (brown and sea-green).

The upper bottom of the first stage is 15A18M. On the right is the undocked second stage, one of the steering engine nozzles is visible.

The fourth generation missile system R-36M2 "Voevoda" (GRAU index - 15P018M, START code - RS-20V, according to the US and NATO classification - SS-18 Mod.5/Mod.6) with a multi-purpose heavy-class intercontinental missile 15A18M is intended for hitting all types of targets protected by modern missile defense systems in any combat conditions, including multiple nuclear impacts in a positional area. Its use makes it possible to implement a strategy of a guaranteed retaliatory strike.

As a result of the use of the latest technical solutions, the energy capabilities of the 15A18M rocket have been increased by 12% compared to the 15A18 rocket. At the same time, all conditions for restrictions on dimensions and starting weight imposed by the SALT-2 agreement are met. Missiles of this type are the most powerful of all intercontinental missiles. In terms of technological level, the complex has no analogues in the world. Used in a missile system active protection silo launcher from nuclear warheads and high-precision non-nuclear weapons, and for the first time in the country, low-altitude non-nuclear interception of high-speed ballistic targets was carried out.

Compared to the prototype, the new complex managed to achieve improvements in many characteristics:

• increasing accuracy by 1.3 times;
• 3 times increase in battery life;
• reducing the combat readiness time by 2 times.
• increasing the area of ​​the warhead disengagement zone by 2.3 times;
• the use of high-power charges (10 individually guided multiple warheads with a power of 550 to 750 kt each; total throw weight - 8800 kg);
• the possibility of launching from the constant combat readiness mode according to one of the planned target designations, as well as operational retargeting and launching according to any unplanned target designation transmitted from the highest echelon of control;

To ensure high combat effectiveness in particularly difficult combat conditions during the development of the R-36M2 Voevoda complex Special attention focused on the following areas:

• increasing the security and survivability of silos and command posts;
• ensuring the stability of combat control in all conditions of use of the complex;
• increasing the autonomy time of the complex;
• increasing the warranty period;
• ensuring the missile's resistance in flight to the damaging factors of ground-based and high-altitude nuclear explosions;
• expanding operational capabilities to retarget missiles.

One of the main advantages of the new complex is the ability to support missile launches in conditions of a retaliatory strike when exposed to ground-based and high-altitude nuclear explosions. This was achieved by increasing the survivability of the missile in the silo launcher and significantly increasing the resistance of the missile in flight to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. The rocket body has a multifunctional coating, protection of the control system equipment from gamma radiation has been introduced, the speed of the executive bodies of the control system stabilization machine has been increased by 2 times, the head fairing is separated after passing through the zone of high-altitude blocking nuclear explosions, the engines of the first and second stages of the rocket have been increased in thrust.

As a result, the radius of the missile's damage zone with a blocking nuclear explosion, compared to the 15A18 missile, is reduced by 20 times, resistance to X-ray radiation is increased by 10 times, and resistance to gamma-neutron radiation is increased by 100 times. The missile is resistant to the effects of dust formations and large soil particles present in the cloud during a ground-based nuclear explosion.

For the missile, silos with ultra-high protection from damaging factors of nuclear weapons were built by re-equipping the silos of the 15A14 and 15A18 missile systems. The implemented levels of missile resistance to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion ensure its successful launch after a non-damaging nuclear explosion directly at the launcher and without reducing combat readiness when exposed to an adjacent launcher.

The rocket is made according to a two-stage design with a sequential arrangement of stages. The missile uses similar launch schemes, stage separation, warhead separation, and disengagement of combat equipment elements, which have shown a high level of technical excellence and reliability in the 15A18 missile.

The propulsion system of the first stage of the rocket includes four hinged single-chamber liquid propellant engines with a turbopump fuel supply system and made in a closed circuit.

The second stage propulsion system includes two engines: a sustainer single-chamber RD-0255 with a turbopump supply of fuel components, made in a closed circuit, and a steering RD-0257, a four-chamber, open circuit, previously used on the 15A18 rocket. Engines of all stages operate on liquid high-boiling components of UDMH+AT fuel; the stages are completely ampulized.

The control system is developed on the basis of two high-performance digital control systems (on-board and ground-based) of a new generation and a high-precision complex of command instruments continuously operating during combat duty.

A new nose fairing has been developed for the rocket, providing reliable protection of the warhead from the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. The tactical and technical requirements provided for equipping the missile with four types of warheads:

• two monoblock warheads - with a “heavy” and a “light” warhead;
• MIRV with ten unguided warheads with a capacity of 0.8 Mt;
• Mixed MIRV consisting of six uncontrolled and four controlled warheads with a homing system based on terrain maps.

As part of the combat equipment, highly effective missile defense penetration systems have been created (“heavy” and “light” decoys, dipole reflectors), which are placed in special cassettes, and thermally insulating BB covers are used.

Flight design tests of the R-36M2 complex began at Baikonur in 1986. The first launch on March 21 ended in an emergency: due to an error in the control system, the first stage propulsion system did not start. The missile, emerging from the TPK, immediately fell into the shaft of the mine, its explosion completely destroyed the launcher. There were no human casualties.

The first missile regiment with the R-36M2 ICBM went on combat duty on July 30, 1988. On August 11, 1988, the missile system was put into service. Flight design tests of the new fourth generation intercontinental missile R-36M2 (15A18M - “Voevoda”) with all types of combat equipment were completed in September 1989. As of May 2006, the Strategic Missile Forces included 74 silo launchers with R-36M UTTH and R-36M2 ICBMs, equipped with 10 warheads each.

On December 21, 2006, at 11:20 am Moscow time, a combat training launch of the RS-20V was carried out. According to the head of the information and public relations service of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel Alexander Vovk, missile training units launched from the Orenburg region (Ural region) hit conditional targets with specified accuracy at the Kura training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Pacific Ocean. The first stage fell in the Vagaisky, Vikulovsky and Sorokinsky districts of the Tyumen region. It separated at an altitude of 90 kilometers, the remaining fuel burned as it fell to the ground. The launch took place as part of the Zaryadye development work. The launches gave an affirmative answer to the question about the possibility of operating the R-36M2 complex for 20 years.

On December 24, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. Moscow time, the RS-20V intercontinental ballistic missile (“Voevoda”) was launched, said Colonel Vadim Koval, press secretary of the press service and information department of the Ministry of Defense for the Strategic Missile Forces: “December twenty-four, 2009 At 9.30 Moscow time, the Strategic Missile Forces launched a missile from the position area of ​​the formation stationed in the Orenburg region,” Koval said. According to him, the launch was carried out as part of development work in order to confirm the flight performance characteristics of the RS-20V missile and extend the service life of the Voevoda missile system to 23 years.

I personally sleep peacefully when I know that such weapons protect our peace…………..

Modern Russians, regardless of their political leanings, hardly think about the fact that our country could cease to exist or turn into a semi-colony back in the mid-nineties.

Russia's "final argument"

At the height of the First Chechen War, Western fans of militants, called Shamilya Basayeva and those like him, none other than the “rebels,” sometimes asked NATO officials a question: is it not worth using force against the “bloody Kremlin,” which suppresses the freedom-loving Caucasian people? To such brave souls, their more sober colleagues whispered only one word in their ears: “Satan.”

Arguing about the future, expressing your approval or dissatisfaction, lazily drinking coffee and taking your children to school in 2018 is only possible thanks to the fact that Soviet scientists, designers and engineers created weapons that ensured the sovereignty of the state for decades to come. At that moment, when NATO bombers dropped bombs on Belgrade, Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities of the country, the Satan missile protected from a similar fate.

Surprisingly, " final argument“Russia, which ensures a peaceful sky above our heads, is better known to us under the name that appeared in the West. “Satan” is the name given to several modifications of Soviet strategic missile systems that went on combat duty in the seventies and eighties.

The USSR needed a rocket-propelled Kalashnikov assault rifle

When in the sixties Nikita Khrushchev threatened the USA with “Kuzka’s mother”, domestic designers and military knew that before nuclear parity Washington is still a long way off. The super-powerful bombs that shook the planet were amazing, but it was difficult to deliver them to the territory of a potential enemy. First domestic intercontinental missiles They were a formidable weapon, but capricious and rather poorly protected. This was enough to discourage those who dreamed of a nuclear blitzkrieg. But overseas they did not sit idly by and develop anti-missile systems, designed to reduce Soviet nuclear potential to zero.

The USSR needed something new, in accordance with our traditions, simple and effective. Like a T-34 tank, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Adjusted, of course, for the fact that we were talking about rocket technology.

Mikhail Yangel. Photo: wikipedia.org

“Products” of Comrade Yangel

In the fall of 1969, the USSR Council of Ministers issued a decree to begin work on the creation of a new missile system. The task was assigned to the design bureau Mikhail Yangel, ally and competitor Sergei Korolev.

Mikhail Yangel, who worked on both combat missiles and space technology, nevertheless became more famous in the military field. His combat systems significantly surpassed Korolev's analogues and eventually became the basis of " nuclear shield" THE USSR. The R-36M project, draft versions of which were ready before the end of 1969, was supposed to surpass all previous developments by an order of magnitude. This missile system was supposed to effectively hit all types of targets, including fortified bunkers, overcome all existing and future missile defense systems, remaining effective even if the base area was hit by enemy nuclear weapons.

Yangel died in 1971, when work on the complex was gaining momentum. A student of Yangel became the new head of the Dnepropetrovsk Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, where the R-36M was developed. Vladimir Utkin.

They will definitely arrive: what the USSR’s retaliatory strike could have looked like

The United States knew that something revolutionary was being prepared in the Soviet Union. Off the coast of Kamchatka, where the missile test site is located, American reconnaissance ships were constantly on duty, trying to collect as much information as possible about the new product. It didn’t work out very well: the information that was managed to be obtained was not very credible. Some kind of fantasy: a warhead that is divided into several warheads, which create their own false “clones,” thereby complicating the possibility of interception. The first regiment equipped with the new missiles entered service in 1974. But work on the R-36M was in full swing. At that time, monoblock missiles were on combat duty, formidable, but still vulnerable to missile defense systems.

However, by the end of the seventies, the troops received a version that sent chills down the spine of the American military. Imagine a situation in which the American military became aware of the location of the Soviet nuclear missiles. By order of the US President, a strike is carried out there, turning the territory into a desert. While the US generals shake hands, a “flock” of R-36Ms rises from silos that withstood a nuclear strike. The dark heat-protective coating makes it easier for them to pass through the radiation dust cloud that appears after a nuclear explosion. The control system is turned off so that it cannot be damaged by gamma radiation: special sensors are responsible for this. At the same time, the engines operate, carrying combat unit to the goal. When the area where the radiation is rampant is passed, the control system turns on, adjusting the flight path.

American missile defense systems turn on in order to repel a retaliatory missile attack, but at this moment each of the warheads of the Soviet complexes is divided into 10 warheads of 750 kilotons each. Together with 10 warheads, 40 decoys are formed. While missile defense systems are going crazy, Soviet nuclear “gifts” are arriving at their destinations.

How do you like that, Ronald Reagan?

After analyzing the characteristics of the complex, the Americans gave it the name “Satan”. All anti-missile developments could be scrapped: the Soviet missile system guaranteed that a retaliatory strike would cause unacceptable destruction to the United States.

When in 1983 US President Ronald Reagan launched the so-called Strategic Defense Initiative, better known as the star Wars", Vladimir Utkin’s team was given the order to improve their brainchild. This is how the fourth generation missile system R-36M2 “Voevoda” was born. All security indicators of the complex have been improved by an order of magnitude. The warhead yield was increased to 800 kilotons.

A strike by a dozen Voevods, carrying a total of 100 warheads, could ensure the destruction of 80 percent of the US industrial potential. There were simply no analogues of “Voevoda” in the world. The missile was capable of overcoming not only all existing missile defense systems, but also those that were just being developed at that moment. And the long service life intended by the designers made this weapon almost ideal.

At that time, the Americans wrote a lot about the prospects of their combat lasers, which were supposed to shoot down soviet missiles. Domestic designers politely remained silent. Much later it became known that the billions of dollars spent by the Pentagon were flushed down the toilet: the Voevoda missile was also protected from the effects of a combat laser.

And how else can we call something like this, if not “Satan”?

"New version of "Satan""

Interestingly, in 1991, work began in the USSR on the fifth generation R-36M3 Icarus complex, which was interrupted due to the collapse of the country. Were American intelligence agencies hunting for the secrets of “Satan”? Of course. But the fact is that, even knowing some secrets, it is not always possible to find an antidote. The United States realized that effective defense systems against “Satan” could only be developed after several decades. Thanks to this, post-Soviet Russia received a quarter-century respite, during which internal problems were not aggravated by the presence of a direct military threat from the outside. The “Satan” complex winked merrily from its shaft at everyone who wanted to threaten them.

In 2016, the Makeev State Missile Center published the first image of the promising RS-28 Sarmat ballistic missile. The Daily Mail immediately reported that one such missile could wipe out England and Wales, and The Sun newspaper added that five such missiles could destroy the entire east coast of the United States. The promising Russian rocket was again called “Satan”. Tradition is tradition.

Work on the creation of the R-36M2 strategic missile system began in August 1983. Their main goal is to refine the previous version of the complex - R-36M UTTH. The updated complex, called “Voevoda” (or “Satan” missile according to NATO classification), was supposed to have higher anti-nuclear protection and the ability to overcome promising American missile defense. The development of the complex was headed by one of the managers of the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, Stanislav Ivanovich Us.

Implementation of advanced technical solutions

The creators of Voivode V.G. Sergeev, S.I. Us and V.F. Utkin

The development of the unique complex was completed in September 1989. As a result of the colossal efforts of the Soviet military-industrial complex, it was possible to create the world’s most powerful missile delivery system for nuclear weapons, which for many years became a “headache” for our potential opponents.

Thanks to the introduction of the latest scientific achievements, it was possible to increase the accuracy of destruction by almost 1.5 times, the duration of autonomous flight by 3 times, and reduce the readiness time for launch by 2 times. The modernized Satan missile could “pour out” a dozen constantly maneuvering missile defense invulnerable missiles onto the aggressor’s head. nuclear warheads individual guidance total mass about 9 tons.

The fight for survivability

The survivability of the complex, in particular mines, has increased significantly launchers, which allows launches even after application nuclear strike. The missile in flight became virtually invulnerable to the damaging effects of a nuclear explosion. This was achieved through the use of a special multifunctional coating and a unique head fairing.

Beyond competition

The Voevoda rocket, like all its predecessors, has a tandem stage arrangement. This is in all respects the most powerful rocket in the world, weighing more than 210 tons and over 34 meters long. For comparison, its American counterpart, Minuteman III, is half as long and almost 7 times lighter.

Tactical and technical characteristics of intercontinental ballistic missiles

Another Soviet know-how embodied in the Voevoda missile is a mortar launch. The rocket launches from the silo not with the help of the switched on first stage engines, but due to the activation of powder pressure accumulators, which literally shoot it out of the transport and launch container, after which the engines start.

However, the biggest problem for our enemies is the improved missile defense penetration system, which includes a whole cloud of false targets that completely imitate warheads during the final phase of the flight. In the event of war, the “voevoda” turns for his enemies into an all-destroying “Satan”, a nightmare come to life in reality, glorified in Hollywood blockbusters, from which there is and cannot be salvation.

Margin of safety

The Voevoda complex has passed its quarter-century mark at the zenith of glory and power. He still has no equal and remains in office as before. Five years ago, after another successful firing, the Russian defense department decided to extend its service life for at least the next 23 years.

“Voevoda” is a weapon of retaliation. According to some reports, of the 350 strategic missiles in service today, a fifth are accounted for by it. And in 3-4 years, solid reinforcements are expected - the new generation strategic complex Sarmat.