Evaluating Russia’s New Weapon Systems and its use in Ukraine

The SAP, is a ten-year document updated every five years, approved by the President, setting out plans for the acquisition of new weapons, the modernisation and repair of existing military equipment, and research and development (R&D) for the creation of new systems.[1] Russia had, before this one, four SAPs, the fourth SAP 2020 was signed into law by the then president Medvedev in 2010. The total volume of funding for the MOD under SAP- 2027 is approximately 19,000 billion roubles for the development, procurement and repair of weapons and other military hardware plus an additional 1,000 b. r. for investment in infrastructure relating to the deployment of new systems.[2] The focus of SAP-2027 and the previous SAP- 2020 was the Inter-continental ballistic missiles with development in the area of how to evade missile defence systems. Accompanying the development of warheads in the SAP-2020 was the rebuilding of the missile early warning system. It aims to construct a network of more than ten new radar stations. The first was commissioned in Leningrad oblast which started regular combat duty in 2012. Seven new are likely to be introduced by 2018. With the rebuilding process in the new SAP-2027, it has also envisioned setting up new military satellites to put into orbit. The first satellite of a new system of reconnaissance ‘Repei’ is scheduled to enter service later in 2018.[3]

 Russia has also been testing a manoeuvrable satellite ‘inspector’, ‘Kosmos-2519’, launched in October 2017, which in the view of some Russian specialists could become the basis of an anti-satellite system. Russian military leaders argue that the next generation warfare will be waged in the aerospace domain with weapons enabled by satellite targeting and navigation.[4] They are insecure about the military and technological superiority of US and its allies which drives their arms race. Russia’s recent anti-satellite test which destroyed its own space object is an example. It was condemned as threatening because of the uncontrollable debris it created which endanger both space assets and human spaceflights for years to come.[5] Due to this test there has been increased calls from organizations like the Arms Control group for an international ban on debris creating ASAT tests.

The SAP-2027 continuing the progress from the previous armament programme will focus on filling the existing gaps in defence procurement and force mobility, logistics and strengthening command and control systems. The state will prioritize the development of new- age weapons that as hypersonic missiles.

A brief description of the new super weapons launched by Russia in 2018 follows below.

Sarmat

Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a super-heavy, liquid-fuelled ICBM that has been under development by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau since 2009. The Sarmat is expected to replace the Soviet-era RS-36M Voevoda (SS-18 ‘Satan’) in the Uzhurskaya and Dombarovskaya divisions of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN).[6] Launch tests were carried out in 2020 and based on their success they will be prepared for induction in the army by 2021. This missile with a capacity to carry up to 10 warheads is set to replace the Soviet-era, Ukraine built ‘Voevoda’, the silo-launched missiles. The Sarmat missile is claimed to have the ability to target US through the South Pole bypassing existing missile detection and defence systems.

Avangard

After the US withdrawal from the ABM treaty in 2002, Russia started developing hypersonic weapons. Avangard which was flight tested in 2015 is a hypersonic glide vehicle. It can deliver both conventional as well as nuclear payloads. They differ from the traditional ballistic missile in the sense that they possess the ability to manoeuvre and operate at lower altitudes. This missile can achieve the speed of Mach 20 or 24696 kilometres per hour. This glide vehicle has no onboard engine and relies upon re-entry to achieve high speeds.[7] It has been called invulnerable to any missile defence system. It enters duty in 2022.

Poseidon

Poseidon, code-named Status-6 or ‘Oceanic Multipurpose System Status-6’, is a nuclear powered and nuclear armed unmanned underwater vehicle capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads. First revealed in 2015 it can travel at the speed of 185km/hr. It is a torpedo-shaped mini-submarine that can go up to the depth of 1 km under the sea. It is characterised by stealth technology which means it travels at low speeds and activated the high-speed mode just 2-3 kilometres away from the target. It is a one of a kind weapon that has huge potential for undersea warfare.

Burevestnik

Like the previous one, Burevestnik or Petrel is a Russian nuclear powered and nuclear armed cruise missile. The essential difference is that this cruise missile has unlimited range and the ability to evade missile defence. It belongs to the family of Russian made Kalibr missiles which are powered by turbojets or turbofans.

Kinzhal

In news recently because of its first-ever use by Russia against Ukraine in the ongoing invasion. This nuclear capable hypersonic air-to-surface missile. It also can carry both conventional as well nuclear warheads. With a speed of mach 12 and a range of 2000 km, it possesses the ability to perform evasive manoeuvers at every stage of its flight. It is said to have been derived from the earlier ground launched 9K720 Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile.[8] It is just more flexible and has a greater range over the previous version.

Tsirkon

Although not mentioned by Putin in his 2018 address but revealed soon after. Tsirkon is an anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile with a speed of mach 8 and a range of 500 km for both land and sea targets. It was the first test launched in 2020 and Russia has announced its successful launches both from land and submarines. Tsirkon is comprised of two elements as reports suggest, first, a solid fuel booster is used for taking the missile to a high altitude and from there it follows a semi-ballistic ‘skip-glide’ trajectory. On reaching the target range a detachable warhead or kinetic energy is used to destroy the target. 

The war in Ukraine

In his state of the Nation speech in 2018 Russian president introduced these weapons and showcased the strides that Russia has made in the development of hypersonic missiles. In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine is being helped by western countries with arms and ammunition supply as its own weapons system is outdated. The invasion which is in its third week is causing immeasurable loss of life and property. Russia is under a lot of criticism from the international community. Recently it has been accused of mass killings of civilians in the Bucha region of Ukraine. Ukrainians have shown a tough fight against the Russians. Of the superweapons announced by Russia in 2018, it has only used Kinzhal in its military operations against Ukraine. Another weapon used by Russia is the Iskander-M ballistic missile which carries a warhead of 710-800kg and has a range of 500 km. The Iskander-M has circular error probable (CEP) of 5-7 metres, meaning half of the projectiles fired will land in a circle with a radius of that size.[9] Russia has also fired a fresh round of Kalibr on February 25.[10] Kalibr is a land-attack cruise missile with a range of around 1500-2500km. It is a short range submarine launched anti-ship missile. It has been in service since 1987.

Other than Kinzhal, Russia has restrained itself from using supersonic missiles only. But the war which Russia with a developed warhead system was expected to win over in a short time is being given a tough fight by the Ukrainians with help of western actors mainly US. Ukraine should not become the ground of proxy war between US and Russia but it seems that is what is likely to happen.

Conclusion

The Russian new weapons is defined by developing increased technological capacity in symphony with space technology. As the new SAP depicts the new age war systems will be a coordinated efforts between modern age weapons and modern technology like AI, drones coordinated with satellite information.

Notes

[1] Cooper, Julian (2018), “The Russian State Armament Programme, 2018-2027”, NATO Defence College.

[2] Cooper, Julian (2018), “The Russian State Armament Programme, 2018-2027”, NATO Defence College.

[3] Dmitrii Strugovets, Aleksei Ramm, ‘”Repei” uznaet chuzhie sekrety’, Izvestiya, 13 November 2017; http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-successfully-launchessecond-eks-satellite/, 25 May 2017. Ibid. cited in Cooper, Julian (2018), “The Russian State Armament Programme, 2018-2027”, NATO Defence College

[4] Sankaran, Jaganath (2022), “Russia’s Anti-Satellite Weapons: An Asymmetric Response to U.S. Aerospace Superiority”, Arms Control Association. March 2022. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-03/features/russias-anti-satellite-weapons-asymmetric-response-us-aerospace-superiority#endnote04

[5] Raju, Nivedita (2021), “Russia’s anti-satellite test should lead to a multilateral ban”, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 7 December 2021. https://www.sipri.org/commentary/essay/2021/russias-anti-satellite-test-should-lead-multilateral-ban

[6] Bendett, Samuel., et. al. (2021), “Advanced military technology in Russia”, Chatham House, 23 September 2021. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/09/advanced-military-technology-russia/03-putins-super-weapons

[7]Dangwal, Ashish (2022), “‘Impossible To Intercept’, 2nd Regiment Of Russia’s Avangard Hypersonic Missiles Set To Enter Combat Duty”, Eurasian Times, 11 February 2022. https://eurasiantimes.com/russias-avangard-hypersonic-missiles-set-to-enter-combat-duty/

[8] Missile Defense Project, "Kh-47M2 Kinzhal," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 27, 2018, last modified March 19, 2022, https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/kinzhal/.

[9] Doyle, Gerry, et.al. (2022), “Weapons of the war in Ukraine”, Reuters, 10 March 2022. https://graphics.reuters.com/UKRAINE-CRISIS/WEAPONS/lbvgnzdnlpq/

[10] Polityuk, Pavel, et. al. (2022), “Ukraine reports fresh air, cruise missile strikes”, Reuters, 26 February, 2022.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-reports-fresh-air-cruise-missile-strikes-2022-02-26/

Pic Courtsey-Russia Today

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)