Russian President Putin once said that Russia’s Sarmat ICBM aka Satan-II, will make Kremlin’s enemies “think twice” before mounting an attack on Moscow. (Image: AFP)
Satan-II missiles or Sarmat ICBMs are Russian superweapons that Putin believes will scare NATO and the US and stop them from aiding Ukraine.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos on Friday announced that Russia deployed Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), also known as Satan II missiles. Russian President Vladimir Putin once said that these missiles will make the world and enemies think twice before engaging in a combat with Russia.
“The Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty,” Roscosmos general director Yuri Borisov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
The missile was first unveiled in 2018 and is capable of carrying at least 10-15 nuclear warheads. These will replace the R-36 ICBMs.
Experts speaking to US-based media outlets said that this move is Putin sending a message to NATO and the US that the nuclear option still remains on the table.
Russian defence committee deputy chairman Aleksey Zhuravlyov also earlier this year said that Putin could launch Satan-II missiles to strike the US and the UK because they are the main organising force behind NATO. Zhuravlyov’s comments were a reaction to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
The Sarmat ICBMs measure approximately 116 feet in length. Each missile weighs 220 tonnes and can carry at least 10-15 nuclear warheads. These warheads use the Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) technology allowing a single rocket to hit an array of targets at once.
Rebekah Koffler, who wrote the book Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America, told Fox News that the Sarmat ICBMs or Satan-II missiles will not be used to attack the American mainland but mainly for deterrence, unless Russia gets attacked first.
These missiles can cover approximately 10,000 to 18,000 kilometres. “(Satan II missiles) make those who, in the heat of frantic, aggressive rhetoric, try to threaten our country, think twice,” Putin said following the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Putin claimed that rival superpowers do not have such a missile and all parts of these ICBMs are domestically produced, which means Russia is not dependent on foreign partners in its production of these ICBMs.
The Satan-II missiles also have a short initial launch phase which means surveillance systems do not get much time to track it.
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