RS-24 Yars

The RS-24 Yars (РС-24 Ярс– ракета стратегическая (strategic missile)) - modification 24) also known as RT-24 Yars or Topol'-MR (Russian: PC-24 «Ярс»,[7] NATO reporting name: SS-29[8] or SS-27 Mod 2[9][6][1][10]) is a Russian MIRV-equipped, thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile first tested on May 29, 2007, after a secret military R&D project.[11]

"RS-24" redirects here. For the American rocket motor sometimes designated RS-24, see Space Shuttle Main Engine.
RS-24 Yars
TypeIntercontinental Ballistic Missile
Place of originRussia
Service history
In serviceJuly 2010–present[1]
Used byRussian Strategic Missile Troops
Production history
DesignerMoscow Institute of Thermal Technology
ManufacturerVotkinsk Machine Building Plant
Produced2010–present
Specifications
Mass49,600 kg[2]
Length22,500 mm
Diameter2,000 mm
WarheadAt least 3-6 MIRVs with 300—500 kiloton warheads,or 6-10 150 kiloton warheads[3]
Enginesolid (third or fourth stage can be liquid)
Operational
range
11,000 km (6,800 mi)-12,000 km (7,500 mi) [4][5]
Maximum speed over Mach 30 (36,800 km/h; 22,800 mph; 10,200 m/s)
Guidance
system
Inertial with Glonass[6]
Accuracy150 m
Launch
platform
Silo, road-mobile TEL MZKT-79221[6]
Combat support vehicle BMS used for driving school and rescue towing of the TEL

It is essentially the same missile as the Topol-M except the payload “bus” has been modified to carry multiple independently targetable warheads (MIRV). Each missile is thought to be able to carry up to 4 warheads, although there is uncertainty about what the maximum capacity is.[10]

RS-24 is a missile that is heavier than the current RT-2PM2 Topol-M, and which some reports say can carry up to 10 independently targetable warheads.[12] The 2007 tests were publicized as a response to the missile shield that the United States were planning to deploy in Europe.[13][14] The RS-24 has been deployed operationally since 2010, with more than 50 launchers operational as of June 2017.[1]

Yars does not appear to be a Russian word but the Slavic root яр (yar) is present, being a bank or steep ravine, consistent with the nomenclature of another newly fielded Russian missile, the RS-26 Rubezh (РС-26 Рубеж) meaning a boundary or outer limit. According to Sergey Karakaev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Yars is an acronym for "Yadernaya Raketa Sderzhivaniya" (Russian: Ядерная ракета сдерживания), meaning "Nuclear Deterrence Rocket".[15]

Testing

Asserted by the Russian government as being designed to defeat present and potential anti-missile systems,[16] the ICBM was first tested by a launch from a mobile launcher at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia at 11:20 GMT, May 29, 2007, and its test warheads landed on target about 5,750 km (3,573 mi) away at the Kura Test Range in Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula.[17][18]

The second launch from Plesetsk to the Kura Test Range was conducted on December 25, 2007, at 13:10 GMT. It successfully reached its destination. The third successful launch from the Plesetsk space center in northwest Russia was conducted on November 26, 2008, at 13:20 GMT. The missile's multiple re-entry vehicles successfully landed on targets on the Kura testing range.[19]

It was again tested on December 24, 2013, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwest Russia.[20] On December 26, 2014, the Strategic Forces conducted a successful launch of an RS-24 Yars missile. The missile was launched from a mobile launcher deployed at the Plesetsk test site. Missile warheads were reported to have successfully reached their targets at the Kura test site in Kamchatka. The launch, which was performed with support of the Air and Space Defense Forces, took place at 11:02 MSK (08:02 UTC).[21] More than 10 successful launches took place between 2012 and 2022.[22][23]

Deployment

In June 2008, the chief designer of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, Yuri Solomonov, announced that the RS-24 is an enhanced, MIRVed development of the Topol-M missile that would finish all testing in 2008 and most likely be deployed in 2009.[24]

According to the Russian rocket forces the first six RS-24 missiles will be mobile.[25]

Further on October 10, 2009, on ITAR-TASS, General Andrei Shvaichenko, the new SRF commander, confirmed the December 2009 deployment of the RS-24 which will support the existing RT-2PM2 Topol-M (RS-12М2) missile complex.[26]

Testing for the new-generation ICBM was completed in mid-July 2010, and the first missiles were deployed shortly after on July 19.[27]

In December 2010 the 54th Guards Rocket Division in Teykovo received its second delivery of RS-24 missile systems. In total 6 missiles were deployed by the end of 2010.[28] 3 more mobile missile systems were deployed in July 2011 and then the first regiment was operational.[29] In December 2011 first division of second regiment with 3 missiles was put on combat duty and second division will be deployed by 2011 year-end.[30] On August 16, 2012, Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) spokesman Col. Vadim Koval reported that a second regiment of the 54th Guards Rocket Division in Teikovo, central Russia will be fully equipped with Yars mobile ballistic missile systems in 2012.

Russia fully deployed the first Yars regiment consisting of three battalions in August 2011, and put two battalions of the second regiment on combat duty on December 27, 2011. The deployment of the third battalion of the second regiment completed the rearming of the Teikovo division with Yars systems. The two regiments consist of a total of 18 missile systems and several mobile command posts. Two more missile divisions will start receiving the Yars systems in 2013.[31]

The 39th Guards Rocket Division, at Paskino, Novosibirsk Oblast, in Siberia, will receive mobile Yars systems, while the 28th Guards Rocket Division at Kozelsk (in central Russia) will be armed with the silo-based version of the system.

Three missile regiments of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces have been rearmed with the Yars systems in 2014.[32]

On 18 October 2019, Col. Alexander Prokopenkov, commander of the 35th Rocket Division, stated that the new "Yars-S" missile systems will enter combat duty in the city of Barnaul in November. Technical characteristics of the new missile system have not been disclosed. Previously, "Yars-S" have entered combat duty in Yoshkar-Ola.[33][34] Until 2021, three more regiments of the Strategic Missile Forces will be rearmed with the modernized complex.[35]

According to Sergey Karakaev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, as of November 2019, there were "more than 150" launchers of the "Yars" complex (silo and mobile-based) in operation. Regiments in Yoshkar-Ola, Teykovo, Nizhny Tagil and Novosibirsk have been fully rearmed with the TEL version of "Yars" and rearmament of the Irkutsk missile regiments is to be complete until the end of 2019. According to Karakaev, RVSN receives "around 20" "Yars" complexes per year.[36] 3 missile regiments in Barnaul begun combat duty in 2019-2020 and one more in Tver region in 2022.[37][38][39]

On 29 March 2023 the Yars missile was exercised simultaneously in three regions.[40]

Controversies

The US National Air and Space Intelligence Center NASIC always believed that Yars was just a Topol M in violation of the START Treaty, something that is reflected in both the Mod 2 designation and the illustrations showing the SS-27 Mod 1 and Mod 2 to be identical.[1]

Variants

Road-mobile version
  • Yars-S: The modernized and scaled-down version of the road-mobile "Yars".[38]

Rail version
  • Barguzin: A railcar launched version is being developed, called BZhRK Barguzin.

Operators
 Russia

The Strategic Missile Troops are the only operator of the RS-24 Yars. As of December 2022,[41][42] 136+ road-mobile and 16 silo-based missiles were deployed with 7 rocket divisions:

Silo-based:

Road-mobile:

See also

References
  1. "Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat". Defense Intelligence Ballistic Missile Analysis Committee. 2017.
  2. CSIS Missile Threat - SS-29 (RS-24 "Yars")
  3. Administrator. "RS-24 Yars nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile MZKT-79221 technical data sheet specifications - Russia Russian missile system vehicle UK - Russia Russian army military equipment vehicles UK". Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/rs-24.htm
  5. Today, Military. "Yars Intercontinental ballistic missile". Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  6. "SS-27 Mod 2 / RS-24 Yars – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance".
  7. According to the words of Sergei Karakayev, chief commander of Strategic Rocket Forces, as spoken in his interview to Zvezda TV channel, it is an abbreviaton of Ядерная Ракета Сдерживания, "Nuclear Deterrent Missile" See: Ярс. Ядерная ракета сдерживания. Часть 1 (in Russian). "Zvezda" TV channel. 2019-12-01.
  8. Bilyana Lilly (21 August 2014). Russian Foreign Policy toward Missile Defense: Actors, Motivations, and Influence. Lexington Books. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-7391-8385-4.
  9. "RS-24 Yars (SS-27 Mod 2)".
  10. Kristensen, Hans (7 May 2014). "Russian ICBM Force Modernization: Arms Control Please!". Federation of American Scientists.
  11. "Russian Official Boasts of New ICBM". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  12. Sweeney, Conor (November 28, 2008). "Russia seeks new missiles due to U.S. shield plans". Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  13. Luke Harding (2007-05-30). "Russian missile test adds to arms race fears". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  14. "Russian missile test new warning over US shield". Gulf Times. May 31, 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  15. Военная приемка. Ярс. Ядерная ракета сдерживания. Часть 1 (in Russian), tvzvezda.ru, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 1 December 2019
  16. "BBC NEWS - Europe - Russia blames US in missile row". June 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  17. "Russia Tested Satan Successor". Kommersant. Archived from the original on 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  18. "BBC NEWS - Europe - Russia tests long-range missile". 29 May 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  19. "Russia successfully tests intercontinental missile". spacewar.com. Space War Report. 25 December 2007.
  20. "Russia Test Fires New Yars Ballistic Missile". 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  21. Podvig, Pavel (26 December 2014). "RS-24 launch from Plesetsk". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  22. "Russia carries out 10 successful launches of Yars ICBMs since 2012". TASS. 23 December 2020.
  23. "All missiles hit targets during Russia's strategic drills directed by Putin — Kremlin". TASS. 19 February 2022.
  24. "ВПК". Vpk-news.ru. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  25. РВСН оснащаются новыми ракетами с разделяющимися боеголовками [Strategic Missile Forces are equipped with new missiles with multiple warheads]. Armstass.su (in Russian). АРМС-ТАСС. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  26. "нПСФХЕ: аНЕБНИ ЯНЯРЮБ пЮЙЕРМШУ БНИЯЙ НАМНБЪР МЮ 80 ОПНЖЕМРНБ". Lenta.ru. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  27. На вооружение РВСН поступил дивизион новых ракет [The division of new missiles entered service with the Strategic Missile Forces]. Вести.Ru / Vesti.ru. 2010-07-19. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012.
  28. Ракеты лучше, полков меньше [Better missiles, fewer regiments]. Vz.ru. 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  29. Deployment of the first full regiment of RS-24 is completed (7 July 2011). "Deployment of the first full regiment of RS-24 is completed – Blog – Russian strategic nuclear forces". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russianforces.org. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  30. Фото: пресс-служба Минобороны России (17 December 2011). Второй дивизион "Ярсов" заступит на дежурство в Ивановской области | Оборона и безопасность | Лента новостей "РИА Новости" [The second "Yarsov" division will take up duty in the Ivanovo region]. Ria.ru. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  31. В РВСН завершилось перевооружение Тейковского соединения на ракетные комплексы 5-го поколения "Тополь-М" и "Ярс" [The Strategic Missile Forces completed the re-equipment of the Teikovsky formation with the 5th generation Topol-M and Yars missile systems]. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  32. "ТАСС: Армия и ОПК - Шойгу: оснащенность Российской армии современным оружием и техникой за год выросла на 7%". ТАСС. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  33. "New Yars-S Missile Systems To Enter Combat Duty In Russia's Barnaul In November". Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  34. Три полка РВСН перевооружат на комплексы "Ярс-С" до 2021 года [Three regiments of the Strategic Missile Forces will be re-equipped with Yars-S complexes until 2021] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  35. В РВСН заявили, что ракеты РФ "Ярс" невозможно перехватить существующими средствами ПРО [The Strategic Missile Forces stated that "Yars" missiles of the Russian Federation cannot be intercepted by existing missile defense systems] (in Russian). TASS. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  36. "РВСН получают около 20 стратегических комплексов "Ярс" в год - командующий" (in Russian). Interfax. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  37. Podvig, Pavel (15 December 2020). "Yars regiment added to the Barnaul missile division". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces.
  38. Минобороны раскрыло характеристики стратегического комплекса "Ярс-С" [The Ministry of Defense revealed the characteristics of the strategic complex "Yars-S"] (in Russian). TASS. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  39. "Missile unit in Tver Region enters combat duty with Yars ICBM system — missile force chief".
  40. "Russia starts Yars intercontinental ballistic missile drills". Al Jazeera Media Network. 29 March 2023.
  41. The Military Balance 2020, Chapter Five: Russia and Eurasia 195
  42. "Next Yars ICBM placed into silo in strategic missile formation in central Russia".
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