The Russian military announced on Wednesday the first successful test firing of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new-generation ultra-long-range weapon that President Vladimir Putin has hailed as “unparalleled”. Capable of being equipped with several nuclear or conventional warheads which each follow an independent trajectory when entering the atmosphere, it was tested and fired for the first time on Wednesday April 20 in a region located in northwestern Russia. . The missile reportedly hit its target in Russia’s Far East, 5,000 kilometers from the launch pad. “It is truly a unique weapon that will boost the military potential of our armed forces, keep Russia safe from external threats and make those who try to threaten our country with wild and aggressive rhetoric think twice. “, said Vladimir Putin. This weapon is part of a series of other missiles presented in 2018 as “invisible” by Vladimir Putin. These include the Kinjal and Avangard hypersonic missiles. In March, Moscow claimed to have used the Kinjal against targets in Ukraine for the first time. The RS-28 Sarmat is a new generation weapon. A very long-range thermonuclear missile, the fifth of its generation, which would have no equivalent, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfaA test launch of the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM took place today at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa pic.twitter.com/xk7pinaT1y— Pralong Liliane (@ LiliPralong) April 20, 2022 The test program for this new missile will therefore continue before it is integrated into the Russian strategic forces.
Weighing over 200 tons, the Sarmat is supposed to outperform its predecessor – the Voevoda missile with a range of 11,000 km. In 2019, Vladimir Putin assured that the Sarmat had “virtually no limits in terms of range” and that it was able to “aim at targets crossing the North Pole as well as the South Pole”. A “routine” test, “not a threat” The Pentagon, for its part, assured that the Russian shooting was a “routine” test and did not constitute “a threat” for the United States or their allies. Moscow “appropriately informed” Washington of the conduct of the test, in accordance with its obligations under the nuclear treaties, and it was therefore not a “surprise” for the US Department of Defense, added his spokesman John Kirby.