Russian super weapons

In March 2018, as part of his Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, the Russian president Vladimir Putin announced five novel nuclear or dual-use weapons systems, popularly dubbed "super weapons" (Russian: супероружие, romanized: superoruzhie).[1][2]

Putin stated that together the weapons provided Russia with a strategic capability that was impossible for America to intercept, restoring Russia's nuclear deterrence capability in the face of American technological developments following America's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.[3]

The "super weapons" named were:

Deployment
Remnant presented by Ukraine as a warhead of a Kinzhal missile in May 2023[4]

The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile started test operations in December 2017, and has been deployed since 2018.[5]

On 27 December 2019, TASS reported that the first missile regiment armed with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle officially entered combat duty.[6]

As of 2020, the 9M730 Burevestnik nuclear-powered missile was still under development. The Nyonoksa radiation accident appears to have been caused by an accident during testing of a prototype.[7]

TASS reported that the first contract for the production of the RS-28 Sarmat missiles was signed in August 2022.[8]

On 16 January 2023, TASS reported that the first batch of the Poseidon nuclear-powered UUVs had been manufactured.[9]

Combat history

Of the five systems, only one is known to have been used in action; the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, which has been used in a non-nuclear capacity during the Russia-Ukraine War.

In 2023, it was claimed that a Kinzhal missile had been shot down by the Ukrainian air defense forces using a MIM-104 Patriot missile defence system.[10][11][12] On 10 May 2023, the Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko showed fragments of the alleged downed Kinzhal missile for Bild journalists in Kyiv.[13] In contradiction to Ukrainian claims, Russian media reported that the fragments closely resembled the concrete-piercing BETAB-500ShP aerial bomb.[14][15] On 16 May 2023, Ukraine's air command claimed to have intercepted all six Kinzhal missiles that had been launched during a Russian attack.[16]

References
  1. "Advanced military technology in Russia: Putin's 'super weapons'". Chatham House. 23 September 2021.
  2. "Russia's novel strategic weapons: staying ahead of the Americans?". James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  3. Wesolowsky, Tony (2018-03-02). "'You Have Failed To Contain Russia': Putin In Fiery Address". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  4. "Factbox: What we know about Kinzhal, Russia's hypersonic missile". Reuters. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  5. "Kh-47M2 Kinzhal". Missile Threat. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  6. "Первый ракетный полк "Авангарда" заступил на боевое дежурство". TASS (in Russian). 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  7. Macias, Amanda (2018-08-21). "Russia is preparing to search for a nuclear-powered missile that was lost at sea months ago after a failed test". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  8. "Russian military brass, defense firm ink deal on advanced Sarmat ICBMs". TASS. 16 August 2022.
  9. "First batch of nuclear-armed drones Poseidon manufactured for special-purpose sub Belgorod". TASS. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  10. "Ukraine downs hypersonic Russian missile using Patriot defense system". Politico. 6 May 2023.
  11. "Ukraine says it downed hypersonic Russian missile with Patriot system". Reuters. 6 May 2023.
  12. Stern, David. "Ukraine says it shot down hypersonic Russian missile with Patriot system". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  13. ""Kiew spricht von einem historischen Abschuss"" [„Kiev speaks of a historic shootdown“] (in German). Welt. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  14. "В Сети высмеяли Кличко, перепутавшего «Кинжал» с обычной авиабомбой". osnmedia.ru. 11 May 2023.
  15. Tiwari, Sakshi (11 May 2023). "Ukraine Flaunts Kinzhal Hypersonic Missile Shot Down By Kyiv". The EurAsian Times. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  16. "Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Kyiv says it destroys incoming missiles". Reuters. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-05-17.

See also


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