According to strongman Vladimir Putin, Russia is set to deploy its nuclear-capable RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) — dubbed Satan II — by the end of the year, a system he described as “the most powerful missile in the world.”
The timing of the Sarmat test is noteworthy, coming shortly after a muted Victory Day Parade on May 9. Putin may be puffing his chest to make up for the embarrassingly feeble parade spectacle.
Putin said the RS-28 will enter combat service by the end of the year. The announcement came after Russia successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to modernize its nuclear forces.
Putin said the Sarmat, one of several new weapons unveiled in 2018, built to replace the aging SS-18 Voyevoda, is as powerful as the Soviet-era missile but offers greater precision.
The missile has been in development since 2011 and has faced difficulties in testing, delaying its original deployment plan for 2018. Putin has spoken about the nuclear-capable missile’s imminent readiness at least 10 times since 2021.
According to Putin, the missile’s warhead yield, reportedly divided by up to 16 independently targeted nuclear warheads, is more than four times greater than any Western equivalent, and its range exceeds 21,750 miles. Western analysts estimate that the Sarmat’s range is closer to 6,200 miles.
Either range would be sufficient to reach any city in the U.S. from Russian territory. Moscow is about 4,660 miles from New York.
By comparison, America’s LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM has a range of about 6,835 miles and is deployed with only one warhead, though it was designed to carry three.
The Sarmat is also liquid-fueled, reports say, meaning it has to be fueled shortly before launching, a disadvantage compared with solid-fueled missiles.
Meanwhile, Russia is also expanding the world’s largest and most secretive Geran-2 Shahed-style drone factory — the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tatarstan — amid a surge in weapons exports to Iran for its military. Russian engineers have reportedly refined these models so extensively that they are now being reexported to Iran.
Russia has used its Ukraine war experience to upgrade the Shaheds’ design, increasing their resistance to electronic warfare, improving their speed by up to three times, and even mounting them with R-60 air-to-air missiles.
The Kremlin had reportedly been shipping drone components to Iran by over water on the Caspian Sea to help rebuild Tehran’s military capabilities during the current ceasefire.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) struck Bandar Anzali port in Iran during the war to disrupt Russian shipments of military equipment, including Shahed drones and artillery shells.
Moscow has expanded the facility — south of the M-12 “Vostok” highway and home to Russia’s main drone manufacturing hub — by 340 hectares in the past year. Its purpose is unknown, but a road is being built to connect it to the SEZ.
Satellite imagery shows freshly constructed hangars sprawling across the northern sector, while production facilities and residential quarters have been extended in the central complex. The factory is frequently targeted by Ukraine.
As of February, at least 19 air-defense towers were constructed around the zone. They are believed to be equipped with Pantsir surface-to-air missile systems and heavy machine guns.
The drone factory, which employs teenagers as young as 15, has accelerated its output of the drones, which cost from $20,000 to $67,000 to produce. The plant is reportedly on track to manufacture nine times more aircraft compared to its 2024 output.
Ukraine’s top military commander said in January that Russia was planning to double production of “suicide drones” to up to 1,000 per day.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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If Russia is supplying military equipment to Iran across the Caspian Sea, why have we not already obliterated those port facilities and warehouses and ships? As soon as they land in port, they are fair game. Same thing with the Iranian nuclear power plant Bushehr. Run by Russians. Those Russians are fair game. Blow them up in their Iranian barracks. Take out the switchyard that feeds start-up power to that nuclear plant so it can never operate again. Never make or use nuclear fuel again.