Beware, Russia Will Hold Three Times Satan 2 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Tests

JAKARTA - Russian authorities are said to be conducting three test launches of the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which NATO calls the SS-X-29 or SS-X-30 this year.

Launching TASS June 18, news of the ICBM test popularly called Satan 2, refers to the position of the RS-28 as a replacement for the R-38, which NATO calls the SS-18 Satan, based on sources in the Russian defense industry close to the Ministry of Defense.

"Three launches of the Sarmat ICBM will be carried out as part of the flight development test in 2021", said the source.

"The first launch of the Sarmat ICBM in the context of flight development tests will be carried out tentatively in the third quarter of 2021, the field in the Kura testing range in Kamchatka will be the target", the source continued.

The source said the three launches would be carried out from silos at the Plesetsk space center in northwestern Russia. One of those missiles will probably be fired at its maximum range.

Next year, the Sarmat is planned to enter service in the Russian military, with the target of the first regiment receiving it by the end of 2022. This coincides with the Ministry of Defense's purchase of serially produced missiles.

The plan, Sarmat will replace the R-36M2 Voevoda missile, the ICBM which is claimed to be the most powerful in the world and has been in service since the 1970s during the Cold War era.

Some of its characteristics were revealed in the 'Army-2019' forum, far surpassing its predecessor. The Sarmat weighs 208.1 tons, pays close to 10 tons, and fuels 178 tons. Its range reaches 18,000 kilometers.

Researchers explain Sarmat has a completely new way to counter missile defenses. Its active flight stage, when the missile accelerates and appears vulnerable to missile defenses, has been reduced.

Meanwhile, the shorter acceleration is important for breaking through missile defenses, has a dummy target, with a propulsion motor that propels the missile quickly into the safe zone, evades missile defenses, and reaches the main flight path.

Not only that, but the RS-28 aka Satan 2 intercontinental ballistic missile is also claimed to be able to fly in unexpected routes and pass through missile defense areas. Passing over the North or South Pole and approaching the target from a direction not planned to be intercepted.