Russia reveals its ‘Satan II’ intercontinental nuclear ballistic missile

MOSCOW is taking sabre-rattling to new heights. It just sent a carrier battle-group to the Mediterranean. Now it’s unveiled its newest and biggest thermonuclear missile.
There is nothing innocent about the timing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is exploiting the limbo imposed by the United States’ presidential election to reposition Moscow as a centre of world power.
And he’s just played an ace.
The first clear pictures of the new intercontinental ballistic missile, officially named RS-28 Sarmat, have been declassified. It replaces a line of missiles NATO had designated the SS-18 ‘Satan’ and is itself generally called the ‘Satan II’.

It’s a weapon Moscow has previously boasted can “wipe out parts of the Earth the size of Texas or France”. It also claims it can evade radar and is immune to anti-missile weapons.

SATAN UNVEILED
The pictures of the missile - looking like a simple black cylinder with a domed roof - were published overnight by the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau.
The accompanying statement simply reads:

“In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation: On the state defence order for 2010 and the planning period 2012-2013. JSC SRC Makeyev instructed to begin the development of OCD Sarmat. In June 2011, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation signed a state contract for OCD Sarmat. Prospective strategic missile systems (RKSN) Sarmat is created in order to secure and effective nuclear deterrent tasks of Russia’s strategic forces.”

It’s claimed the missile can carry a warhead of about 10 tons. This means it can carry about 15 independent thermonuclear warheads which separate from the missile on the edge of space before plunging towards their targets. There are also claims it can heft one giant super-warhead, with the explosive equivalent of 20,000 tons of explosive for up to 10,000km.
Moscow says the RS-28 Sarmat will enter active service in 2018. It is expected it will have replaced all older intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2020.

MARK OF THE BEAST
While the Russians have been working for the past decade to replace its Cold War arsenal of missiles, the United States has not. Instead, it has opted to continue to update and repair its old Minuteman III.
But the West has not been sitting idly by.
A new radar network is being built in Norway to detect launches in their opening seconds, maximising the available time to track and shoot the missiles down.
The United States also has been developing land, air and sea launched anti-ballistic weapons systems which are intended to knock an ICBM down before it can unleash its nuclear payload.