Weapon Topol m. Topol-M - maintains nuclear parity
MRK SN (strategic intercontinental missile system) "Topol-M" (SS-X-27, "Sickle" according to NATO classification) with the RS-12M2 missile (RT-2PM2, 15Zh65) is the result of further modernization of the Topol missile system ( SS-25). This complex was entirely created by Russian enterprises.
Work on the creation of a new missile system began in the mid-1980s. The resolution of the Military-Industrial Commission dated September 09, 1989 ordered the creation of two missile systems (mobile and stationary), as well as a universal three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. This development work was given the name “Universal”, and the complex being developed was given the designation RT-2PM2. The complex was jointly developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering and Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Ukraine, Dnepropetrovsk).
The missile was supposed to be unified for both complexes, however, in the original design, a difference was assumed in the warhead breeding system. For a silo-based missile, the combat stage had to be equipped with a liquid jet engine using the promising PRONIT monopropellant. For the mobile complex, MIT developed a solid propellant propulsion system. There were also differences in the transport and launch container (TPC). In the mobile version, the TPK was supposed to be made of fiberglass, in the stationary version - from metal, with a number of ground equipment systems mounted on it. Therefore, the rocket for the mobile complex was assigned the index 15Zh55, for the stationary complex - 15Zh65.
In March 1992, it was decided to develop the Topol-M complex on the basis of Universal (Yuzhnoye Design Bureau stopped participating in work on this complex in April). On February 27, 1993, the President of the Russian Federation signed a corresponding decree (this date is considered the beginning of work on Topol-M). This decree appointed MIT as the lead enterprise for the development of Topol-M, and guaranteed funding for the work.
In fact, it was necessary to develop a universal missile based on the types of deployment. At the same time, in both silo and mobile versions, the missile had to have high combat capabilities, high fire accuracy and be capable of long-term combat duty in different degrees of readiness. In addition, it had to be highly resistant to damaging factors during flight and overcome the missile defense of a potential enemy.
APU of the RT-2PM2 / RS-12M2 "Topol-M" complex with the Yars ICBM TPK during a parade rehearsal in Moscow, 04/26/2011. Previously it was believed that this was the Yars APU (photo - Vitaly Kuzmin, http:/ /vitalykuzmin.net/)
The missile for the Topol-M MRK was created as a modernization of the RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile. The conditions for modernization were determined by the START I Treaty. According to this document, a rocket can be considered new if it differs from its analogue in one of the following ways:
- number of steps;
- type of fuel for any stage;
- the starting mass differs by more than 10 percent;
- the length of the assembled rocket without the warhead (warhead), or the length of the first stage of the rocket differs by more than 10 percent;
- the diameter of the first stage differs by more than 5 percent;
- throw weight of more than 21 percent combined with a change in first stage length of 5 percent or more.
Due to these limitations, the tactical and technical characteristics of the Topol-M MRK missile could not undergo significant changes, and the main differences from its analogue (RT-2PM) lie in the flight characteristics and stability when penetrating enemy missile defenses. From the very beginning, the warhead was developed taking into account the possibility of rapid modernization in the event of the emergence of operational missile defense systems from a potential enemy. It is possible to install a warhead with multiple warheads with individual guidance.
The Topol-M missile system is unique in many ways and is approximately 1.5 times superior to the previous generation missile system in terms of combat readiness, survivability and maneuverability (in the mobile version), and effectiveness in hitting various targets, even in the face of enemy opposition. The energy capabilities of the rocket ensure an increase in throw weight, a significant decrease in the altitude of the active part of the flight path, as well as effective penetration of a promising missile defense system.
When developing the Topol-M MRK, the latest achievements of domestic rocketry and science were used. For the first time, a new experimental testing system was used during tests with high standard operating conditions of units and systems of the missile complex. This has dramatically reduced traditional testing volume and reduced costs without sacrificing reliability.
The complex is a monoblock three-stage solid-fuel rocket housed in a transport and launch container. The missile's lifespan in it is at least 15 years, with a total service life of at least 20 years. Among the features of the complex:
- the ability to use existing silo launchers without significant costs (only the system of attaching the container to the missile changes). Silo launchers are used, which are exempt from missiles being removed from service, and launchers in accordance with the START-2 treaty;
- increased, compared to Topol, firing accuracy, vulnerability of missiles during flight from the effects of air defense systems (including nuclear) and readiness for launch;
- the ability of missiles to maneuver during flight;
- immunity to electromagnetic pulses;
- compatibility with existing control, communication and support systems.
The 15Zh65 (RT-2PM2) rocket has 3 sustainer stages with powerful solid propellant power plants. The rocket's sustainer stages have a one-piece "cocoon" body made of composite material. The 15Zh65, unlike the Topol, does not have lattice stabilizers and rudders. Flight control is carried out by a central partially recessed rotary nozzle of the propulsion engines of the three stages of the rocket. The nozzles of the propulsion engines are made of carbon-carbon material. A three-dimensionally reinforced oriented carbon-carbon matrix is used for the nozzle liners.
The launch weight of the rocket is more than 47 tons. The total length of the rocket is 22.7 meters, and without the head part the length is 17.5 meters. The maximum diameter of the rocket body (first stage) is 1.86 meters. The mass of the head part is 1.2 tons. The length of the first stage is 8.04 meters, the weight of the fully loaded stage is 28.6 tons, the operating time is 60 seconds. The thrust of the first stage solid rocket motor at sea level is 890 kN. The diameter of the second and third stages is 1.61 and 1.58 meters, respectively. The operating time of the stages is 64 and 56 seconds, respectively. Three solid-propellant propulsion engines ensure rapid acceleration, reducing the missile's vulnerability in the acceleration phase, and modern control systems and dozens of auxiliary engines provide maneuver in flight, making the trajectory difficult to predict for the enemy.
A monoblock thermonuclear detachable warhead with a thermonuclear 550-kiloton warhead, unlike strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles of another type, can be quickly replaced by a warhead with multiple independently targetable warheads with a capacity of 150 kilotons. In addition, the Topol-M missile can be equipped with a maneuvering warhead. The new nuclear warhead, according to media reports, can overcome the US missile defense system, which is confirmed by the results of tests of the complex (November 21, 2005) with a new warhead. The probability of overcoming American missile defense is currently 60-65 percent, in the future - more than 80.
It should be noted that when creating the ICBM warhead, the technologies and developments obtained during the creation of the warhead for the Topol were used to the maximum, which made it possible to reduce the cost and shorten the development time. The new warhead, despite such unification, is significantly more resistant to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and the action of weapons that are based on new physical principles, compared to its predecessor, has a lower specific gravity, and also has more advanced safety mechanisms during transportation, storage and while on combat duty. The warhead has an increased efficiency of fissile materials. This warhead was created without testing components and parts during full-scale explosions (a first for the domestic military industry).
The 15Zh65 missile is equipped with a complex of missile defense breakthrough systems (KSP ABM), which includes passive and active decoys, as well as means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead. False targets are indistinguishable from warheads in all ranges of electromagnetic radiation (laser, optical, radar, infrared). They make it possible to imitate the characteristics of BBs according to almost all selecting characteristics in all sections of the descending branch of their flight trajectory, are resistant to PFYA, etc. These decoys are the first that can withstand super-resolution radar stations. Means for distorting the characteristics of the warhead consist of a radio-absorbing coating, aerosol sources of infrared radiation, active radio interference generators, and so on.
The 15Zh65 missile can be operated as part of a stationary (15P065) or mobile (15P165) ballistic missile system. In this case, for the stationary version, silo missile launchers are used, which are removed from service or destroyed in accordance with START-2. A stationary group is created by converting silo launchers 15P735 and 15P718.
The 15P065 combat stationary silo missile system includes 10 15Zh65 missiles in 15P765-35 launchers, as well as one unified 15V222 high-security type CP (placed in the silo on a suspension using special shock absorption). Work on the conversion of silo 15P735 to accommodate Topol-M missiles was carried out under the leadership of Dmitry Dragun at the Vympel Design Bureau.
During combat duty, the 15Zh65 missile is housed in a metal TPK. The transport and launch container is unified for various types of silos and combines the functions of a transport and reloading machine and an installer. The transport and installation unit was developed at the Motor design bureau.
Mobile-based intercontinental ballistic missiles "Topol-M" are deployed as part of the 15P165 complex. The mobile-based missile is housed in a high-strength fiberglass transport and launch container on an MZKT-79221 (MAZ-7922) all-terrain chassis with eight axles from the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. Structurally, the TPK is practically no different from the mine version. The launcher and its adaptation to the tractor were carried out by the Titan Design Bureau. Serial production of launchers is carried out at the Volgograd production association "Barricades". The mass of the launcher is 120 tons, width - 3.4 meters, length - 22 meters. Six of the eight pairs of wheels are swivel (the first and last three axles), which provides exceptional maneuverability for such dimensions (the turning radius, for example, is only 18 meters) and maneuverability. The ground pressure is half that of a conventional truck. The launcher engine is a 12-cylinder V-shaped 800-horsepower YaMZ-847 diesel engine with turbocharging. The depth of the ford is 1.1 meters. When creating units and systems 15P165, several fundamentally new technologies were used. decisions. For example, the partial suspension system makes it possible to deploy the Topol-M launcher on soft soils. The maneuverability and maneuverability of the installation have been improved, increasing its survivability. "Topol-M" can launch missiles from any point in the positional area and has improved camouflage means against optical and other reconnaissance means.
The characteristics of the Topol-M missile system make it possible to significantly increase the readiness of strategic missile forces to carry out combat missions in various conditions, ensure secrecy, maneuverability and survivability of individual launchers, units and units, as well as autonomous operation and reliability of control during for a long time (without replenishment of material resources). Aiming accuracy has been almost doubled, the accuracy of determining geodetic data has been increased by one and a half times, and the launch preparation time has been halved.
The re-equipment of units of the strategic missile forces is carried out using the existing infrastructure. Stationary and mobile versions are fully compatible with existing communications and combat control systems.
Tactical and technical characteristics of the 15Zh65 rocket:
Maximum firing range – 11000 km;
Number of steps – 3;
Launch weight – 47.1 t (47.2 t);
Throwing weight – 1.2 t;
The length of the rocket without the warhead is 17.5 m (17.9 m);
Rocket length - 22.7 m;
Maximum case diameter – 1.86 m;
Warhead type – nuclear, monoblock;
Warhead equivalent – 0.55 Mt;
Circular probable deviation – 200 m;
The diameter of the TPK (without protruding parts) is 1.95 m (for 15P165 – 2.05 m).
Performance characteristics of MZKT-79221 (MAZ-7922):
Wheel formula – 16x16;
Turning radius – 18 m;
Ground clearance – 475 mm;
Loaded weight – 40 tons (without combat equipment);
Load capacity – 80 t;
Maximum speed – 45 km/h;
Power reserve – 500 km.
Prepared based on materials:
http://rbase.new-factoria.ru
http://www.arms-expo.ru
http://www.kap-yar.ru
http://army.lv
http://military-informer.narod.ru
The development of the Topol 15Zh58 (RS-12M) strategic mobile complex with a three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile suitable for placement on a self-propelled vehicle chassis (based on the RT-2P solid-fuel ICBM) was started at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering under the leadership of Alexander Nadiradze in 1975. The government decree on the development of the complex was issued on July 19, 1977. After the death of A. Nadiradze, work was continued under the leadership of Boris Lagutin. The mobile Topol was supposed to be a response to increasing the accuracy of American ICBMs. It was necessary to create a complex with increased survivability, achieved not by building reliable shelters, but by creating vague ideas among the enemy about the location of the missile.
By the end of autumn 1983, a pilot series of new missiles, designated RT-2PM, was built. On December 23, 1983, flight development tests began at the Plesetsk training ground. During the entire period of their implementation, only one launch was unsuccessful. In general, the rocket showed high reliability. Combat units of the entire DBK were also tested there. In December 1984, the main series of tests was completed. However, there was a delay in the development of some elements of the complex that are not directly related to the rocket. The entire test program was successfully completed in December 1988.
The decision to begin mass production of the complexes was made in December 1984. Serial production began in 1985.
In 1984, the construction of stationary structures and the equipment of combat patrol routes for Topol mobile missile systems began. The construction objects were located in the position areas of the RT-2P and UR-100 intercontinental ballistic missiles being removed from duty and located in the OS silos. Later, the arrangement of position areas of the Pioneer medium-range complexes removed from service under the INF Treaty began.
In order to gain experience in operating the new complex in military units, in 1985 it was decided to deploy the first missile regiment in Yoshkar-Ola, without waiting for the full completion of the joint testing program. On July 23, 1985, the first regiment of mobile Topols took up combat duty near Yoshkar-Ola at the site of the deployment of RT-2P missiles. Later, the Topols entered service with the division stationed near Teykovo, which was previously armed with the UR-100 (8K84) ICBM.
On April 28, 1987, a missile regiment armed with Topol complexes with a Barrier mobile command post took up combat duty near Nizhny Tagil. PKP "Barrier" has a multiple protected redundant radio command system. The mobile launcher of the Barrier PKP carries a combat control missile. After the missile is launched, its transmitter gives the command to launch the ICBM.
On December 1, 1988, the new missile system was officially adopted by the USSR Strategic Missile Forces. In the same year, the full-scale deployment of missile regiments with the Topol complex began and the simultaneous removal of obsolete ICBMs from combat duty. On May 27, 1988, the first regiment of the Topol ICBM with the improved Granit PKP and an automated control system began combat duty near Irkutsk.
By mid-1991, 288 missiles of this type were deployed. In 1999, the Strategic Missile Forces were armed with 360 launchers of the Topol missile systems. They were on duty in ten position areas. Four to five regiments are based in each district. Each regiment is armed with nine autonomous launchers and a mobile command post.
The Topol missile divisions were deployed near the cities of Barnaul, Verkhnyaya Salda (Nizhny Tagil), Vypolzovo (Bologoe), Yoshkar-Ola, Teykovo, Yurya, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Irkutsk, as well as near the village of Drovyanaya in the Chita region. Nine regiments (81 launchers) were deployed in missile divisions on the territory of Belarus - near the cities of Lida, Mozyr and Postavy. After the collapse of the USSR, some of the Topols remained outside Russia, on the territory of Belarus. On August 13, 1993, the withdrawal of the Topol Strategic Missile Forces group from Belarus began and was completed on November 27, 1996.
In the west, the complex received the designation SS-25 "Sickle".
Compound
The RT-2PM missile is designed according to a design with three sustainer and combat stages. To ensure high energy-mass perfection and increase the firing range, a new high-density fuel with a specific impulse increased by several units was used in all sustainer stages compared to the fillers of previously created engines, and the housings of the upper stages were for the first time made of continuous winding from organoplastic according to the “cocoon” pattern ". The most difficult technical task turned out to be the placement on the front bottom of the body of the upper stage of the thrust cut-off unit with eight reversible bells and “windows”, cut through by detonating elongated charge (DUS) in an organoplastic power structure.
The first stage of the rocket consists of a sustainer solid propellant rocket engine and a tail section, on the outer surface of which aerodynamic rudders and stabilizers are located. The main engine has one fixed nozzle. The second stage structurally consists of a connecting compartment and a main solid propellant rocket engine. The third stage has almost the same design, but it additionally includes a transition compartment to which the head part is attached.
An autonomous, inertial control system was developed at NPO Automation and Instrumentation under the leadership of Vladimir Lapygin. The aiming system was developed under the leadership of the chief designer of the Kyiv Arsenal plant, Seraphim Parnyakov. The inertial control system has its own digital computer, which made it possible to achieve high shooting accuracy. According to domestic sources, the circular probable deviation (CPD) when firing at the maximum range is 400m, according to Western sources - 150-200m. The control system provides missile flight control, routine maintenance on the missile and launcher, pre-launch preparation and launch of the missile without turning the launcher. All pre-launch preparation and launch operations are fully automated.
"Topol" is equipped with a set of means to overcome missile defense. The rocket's flight is controlled by rotary gas-jet and lattice aerodynamic rudders. New nozzle devices for solid fuel engines have been created. To ensure secrecy, camouflage, decoy systems, and camouflage means have been developed. Like previous mobile complexes of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, Topol can be launched both from a combat patrol route and while parked in garage shelters with a retractable roof. To do this, the launcher is hung on jacks. Combat readiness from the moment the order was received until the missile was launched was brought to two minutes. Mobile and stationary command posts were developed for the new complexes. The mobile command post for combat control of the Topol ICBM is located on the basis of a four-axle MAZ-543M vehicle. To control the fire, mobile command posts "Barrier" and "Granit" were also used, equipped with a missile, with a transmitter instead of a combat load, which, after launching the missile, duplicated the start command for the launchers located in positional areas.
During operation, the missile is located in a transport and launch container installed on a mobile launcher. It is mounted on the basis of a seven-axle chassis of a MAZ heavy-duty vehicle. The rocket is launched from a vertical position using a powder pressure accumulator placed in a transport and launch container.
The launcher (see diagram) was developed at the Volgograd Central Design Bureau "Titan" under the leadership of Valerian Sobolev and Viktor Shurygin. The launcher is mounted on the chassis of a seven-axle tractor MAZ-7912 (later - MAZ-7917 with a 14x12 wheel arrangement. This vehicle from the 80s is equipped with a 710 hp diesel engine) from the Minsk Automobile Plant with an engine from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. Chief designer of the rocket carrier Vladimir Tsvyalev. Solid propellant engine charges were developed at the Lyubertsy NPO Soyuz under the leadership of Boris Zhukov (later the association was headed by Zinovy Pak). Composite materials and the container were developed and manufactured at the Central Research Institute of Special Engineering under the leadership of Viktor Protasov. The steering hydraulic drives of the rocket and the hydraulic drives of the self-propelled launcher were developed at the Moscow Central Research Institute of Automation and Hydraulics. The nuclear warhead was created at the All-Union Research Institute of Experimental Physics under the leadership of chief designer Samvel Kocharyants.
Initially, the warranty period for the rocket's operation was set at 10 years. Later the warranty period was extended to 15 years. The mobile command post for combat control of the Topol ICBM was located on the chassis of a four-axle MAZ-543M vehicle. To control the fire, mobile command posts "Barrier" and "Granit" were also used, equipped with a missile, with a transmitter instead of a combat load, which, after launching the missile, duplicated the start command for the launchers located in positional areas.
Performance characteristics
Maximum firing range, km | 10 000 |
Rocket length, m | 21,5 |
Launch weight, t | 45 |
Head mass, t | 1 |
Weight of the loaded first stage of the rocket, t | 27,8 |
Length of the first stage, m | 8,1 |
Second stage length, m | 4,6 |
Length of the third stage, m | 3,9 |
Head length, m | 2,1 |
Diameter of the first stage body, m | 1,8 |
Diameter of the second stage body, m | 1,55 |
Diameter of the third stage body, m | 1,34 |
Diameter of transport and launch container, m | 2 |
Area of the complex's combat patrol area, km 2 | 125 000 |
Testing and operation
The Topol PGRK entered testing in February 1983. The first launch took place on February 8 at the Plesetsk test site. This and two subsequent launches were made from converted silos of stationary RT-2P missiles. One launch ended unsuccessfully.
Every year one control launch of the Topol rocket is carried out from the Plesetsk test site. The high reliability of the complex is evidenced by the fact that during its testing and operation, about fifty control and test launches of missiles were carried out. All of them went without a hitch.
November 29, 2005 A combat training launch of the mobile-based RS-12M Topol ICBM was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the direction of the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. A training missile warhead hit a simulated target at a training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula with specified accuracy. The main purpose of the launch is to check the reliability of the equipment. The missile remained on combat duty for 20 years. This is the first time in the practice of not only domestic, but also global rocket science - a solid-fuel rocket that has been in operation for so many years has been successfully launched.
On the basis of the Topol ICBM, a conversion space launch vehicle "Start" was developed. Launches of Start rockets are carried out from the Plesetsk and Svobodny cosmodromes.
April 13th, 2013Location: 60th Taman Order of the October Revolution Red Banner Missile Division
Complex RT-2PM2 "Topol-M"(code RS-12M2, according to NATO classification - SS-27 Sickle "Sickle") - a Russian strategic missile system with an intercontinental ballistic missile, developed in the late 1980s - early 1990s on the basis of the RT-2PM "Topol" complex .
The first intercontinental ballistic missile developed in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. Adopted into service in 1997. The lead developer of the missile system is the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering (MIT).
Rocket of the Topol-M complex is solid fuel, three-stage. The maximum range is 11,000 km. Carries one thermonuclear warhead with a power of 550 kt. The missile is based both in silo launchers (silos) and on mobile launchers. The silo-based version was put into service in 2000.
Designed to carry out tasks of delivering a nuclear strike on enemy territory in the face of counteraction from existing and future missile defense systems, with multiple nuclear impacts on a positional area, when blocking a positional area with high-altitude nuclear explosions. It is used as part of the 15PO65 silo-based and 15P165 mobile-based complexes.
Stationary complex "Topol-M" includes 10 intercontinental ballistic missiles mounted in silo launchers, as well as a command post.
Key Features:
Number of steps - 3
Length (with warhead) - 22.55 m
Length (without warhead) - 17.5 m
Diameter - 1.81 m
Launch weight - 46.5 t
Throwing weight 1.2 t
Type of fuel - solid mixed
Maximum range - 11000 km
Head type - monoblock, nuclear, detachable
Number of combat units - 1 + about 20 dummies
Charge power - 550 Kt
Control system - autonomous, inertial based on BTsVK
Method of basing - mine and mobile
Mobile complex "Topol-M" is a single missile placed in a high-strength fiberglass transport and launch container (TPK), mounted on an eight-axle MZKT-79221 cross-country chassis and is structurally practically no different from the silo version. The weight of the launcher is 120 tons. Six pairs of eight wheels are swivel, providing a turning radius of 18 meters.
The ground pressure of the installation is half that of a conventional truck. Engine V-shaped 12-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine YaMZ-847 with a power of 800 hp. The depth of the ford is up to 1.1 meters.
When creating systems and units of the mobile Topol-M, a number of fundamentally new technical solutions were used in comparison with the Topol complex. Thus, the partial suspension system makes it possible to deploy the Topol-M launcher even on soft soils. The maneuverability and maneuverability of the installation have been improved, which increases its survivability.
"Topol-M" is capable of launching from any point in the positional area, and also has improved means of camouflage, both against optical and other reconnaissance means (including by reducing the infrared component of the complex's unmasking field, as well as the use of special coatings that reduce radar signature).
Intercontinental missileconsists of three stages with solid propellant propulsion engines. Aluminum is used as fuel, ammonium perchlorate acts as an oxidizing agent. The step bodies are made of composites. All three stages are equipped with a rotating nozzle to deflect the thrust vector (there are no lattice aerodynamic rudders).
Control system- inertial, based on the on-board central heating system and a gyro-stabilized platform. The complex of high-speed command gyroscopic devices has improved accuracy characteristics. The new BTsVK has increased productivity and resistance to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. Aiming is ensured through the implementation of autonomous determination of the azimuth of the control element installed on a gyro-stabilized platform using a ground-based complex of command instruments located on the TPK. Increased combat readiness, accuracy and continuous operation life of on-board equipment are ensured.
Launch method - mortar for both options. The rocket's sustaining solid-propellant engine allows it to gain speed much faster than previous types of rockets of a similar class created in Russia and the Soviet Union. This makes it much more difficult for missile defense systems to intercept it during the active phase of the flight.
The missile is equipped with a detachable warhead with one thermonuclear warhead with a capacity of 550 kt of TNT equivalent. The warhead is also equipped with a set of means to overcome missile defense. The complex of means for overcoming missile defense consists of passive and active decoys, as well as means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead. Several dozen auxiliary correction engines, instruments and control mechanisms allow the warhead to maneuver along the trajectory, making it difficult to intercept it at the final part of the trajectory.
False targets indistinguishable from warheads in all ranges of electromagnetic radiation (optical, laser, infrared, radar). False targets make it possible to imitate the characteristics of warheads according to almost all selection criteria in the extra-atmospheric, transitional and significant part of the atmospheric section of the descending branch of the flight trajectory of missile warheads, and are resistant to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and the radiation of a super-powerful nuclear-pumped laser. For the first time, decoys have been designed that can withstand super-resolution radars.
In connection with the termination of the START-2 treaty, which prohibited the creation of multi-charge intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering is working on equipping Topol-M with multiple independently targetable warheads. Perhaps the result of this work is the RS-24 Yars. A mobile version of this complex, placed on the chassis of an eight-axle tractor MZKT-79221, is being tested.
The high resistance of the 15Zh65 missile to the effects of potential enemy missile defense systems is achieved due to:
- Reducing the time and length of the active section through extremely rapid acceleration of the rocket. Acceleration time to final speed (over 7 km/s) is less than 3 minutes.
- The missile’s ability to maneuver in the active section, complicating the enemy’s solution to the interception task, as well as to perform a program maneuver when passing through the cloud of a nuclear explosion
- Newly developed protective coating for the hull, providing comprehensive protection against the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and weapons based on new physical principles.
- A complex for overcoming missile defense, including passive and active decoys and means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead. LCs are indistinguishable from warheads in all ranges of electromagnetic radiation (optical, laser, infrared, radar), they allow simulating the characteristics of warheads according to almost all selection criteria in the extra-atmospheric, transitional and significant part of the atmospheric section of the descending branch of the flight path of missile warheads, up to altitudes 2 - 5 km; are resistant to the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion and radiation from a super-powerful nuclear-pumped laser, etc. For the first time, LCs have been designed that can withstand super-resolution radars. Means for distorting the characteristics of the warhead consist of a radio-absorbing (combined with heat-shielding) coating of the warhead, active jammers, etc. The radar signature of the warhead is reduced by several orders of magnitude, the ESR is 0.0001 sq.m. Its detection range has been reduced to 100 - 200 km. The optical and IR visibility of the BB is extremely reduced due to the effective cooling of the BB surface in the transatmospheric section and the reduction in the luminosity of the BB's wake in the atmospheric section, achieved incl. due to the injection of special liquid products into the trace area that reduce the intensity of radiation. As a result of the measures taken, it is possible to overcome the monoblock warhead of a promising multi-echelon missile defense system with space-based elements with a probability of 0.93 - 0.94. The high- and sub-atmospheric missile defense section is overcome with a probability of 0.99, the atmospheric - with a probability of 0.93 - 0.95.
The 15Zh65 rocket is equipped with a thermonuclear monoblock warhead with a power of 0.55 MGt. Tests of ICBMs with MIRVs (from 3 to 6 multiple warheads with a capacity of 150 kt.) have been carried out. In the future, it is planned to equip the missile with a maneuvering warhead (tests of which were also successfully carried out in 2005 and continue), and therefore the possibility of intercepting warheads, according to Russian specialists will be practically reduced to zero.
The probable circular deviation is no more than 200 m, which allows the half-megaton power warhead to confidently hit highly protected point targets (in particular, command posts and silos). Due to the limited throw weight, which limits the power of the nuclear warhead, the Topol-M missile, unlike the 15A18 Voevoda missile (the power of the monoblock warhead of which was 20-25 MGt), has limitations in carrying out destructive effects on a large area target.
The mobile-based 15P165 complex has unique initial survivability characteristics and is capable of operating covertly and autonomously for a long period of time. The patrol area of the complex is 250,000 sq. km.
The Topol-M missile is unified with the " Mace" sea-based, created to arm the Project 955 SSBN. The Bulava's competitor is the R-29RMU2 liquid-fueled ICBM " Sineva" It is significantly superior to the Bulava (like all other ICBMs) in terms of energy and mass sophistication, but is inferior in terms of an important criterion for Russian sea-based missiles - survival in the active phase due to the lower acceleration speed and greater vulnerability from laser weapons, characteristic of liquid-propellant missiles compared to solid fuel. However, the Bulava rocket, with a launch weight of about 37 tons, is significantly inferior in striking power to existing heavier solid-fuel rockets, including the Trident-2 rocket with a launch weight of 59 tons. (Bulava warhead - 6x150 kt, Trident-2 (theoretically) - 8x475 kt). The project to equip the naval component of Russia's nuclear forces with SSBNs with light ballistic missiles "Bulava" is criticized by experts who point to the need to arm domestic SSBNs with high-tech solid-fuel SLBMs R-39UTTH, the testing of which was curtailed in the 90s. and which, if put into service, would have no analogues in the world among SLBMs in terms of striking power and flight performance.
Having covered 11 thousand kilometers, the missile fired from Plesetsk accurately hit the target
On April 20, 2004, at 21.30 Moscow time, a historical event took place in the life of the Strategic Missile Forces, which were “defeated in their rights” in the 90s. For the first time in 15 years, an intercontinental ballistic missile was test launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome into the Hawaiian Islands to a maximum range of more than 11 thousand kilometers. Up to this point, all launches were “home” launches. The missile that flew to distant lands was a mobile-based 15Zh65 Topol-M.
Evolution of ICBMs
Since the late 60s, Soviet and American designers of national nuclear missile shields have taken different paths. The Americans calmed down by creating Minuteman solid-fuel ballistic missiles in 1970 and burying them in the ground. That is, the missiles were placed in the silos once and for all. And to this day it is they, put into service back in 1970, that represent the ground segment of the US nuclear forces.
Soviet rocket scientists constantly not only modernized existing liquid-fuel rockets, but also created new types. This applied not only to the design, but also to their basing. At first, ICBMs were openly located at the launch pads of the Kapustin Yar test site. Then ICBMs began to be placed in mines. And this was also not the best option in terms of missile survivability. Quite soon, the coordinates of the mines were marked on US strategic maps and entered into the computers of missiles aimed at the USSR.
And in the early 70s, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering made a revolution in rocketry. And if the name of S.P. Korolev, who made a huge contribution to the creation of rocket technology for space purposes, is well known to everyone, then few people know about Alexander Davidovich Nadiradze (1914 - 1987), who for a long time was the general designer of MIT (formerly it was called NII-1 Ministry of Defense Industry). It was thanks to him that a unique class of missiles appeared in the country.
Rockets are flying across the country
In the mid-70s, the Strategic Missile Forces began to receive Temp-2S (SS-16) mobile ground-based missile systems developed by MIT. These ICBMs, mounted on a MAZ chassis, had an impressive range of 10,500 km and a powerful warhead of 1.6 Mt. Temp-2S had two fundamental advantages that Soviet launch systems did not have before.
Firstly, they constantly moved, changing their location. Therefore, they were inaccessible to preemptive enemy missile attacks. American land-based ICBMs still do not have this advantage.
Secondly, the missiles used were solid fuel. They are simpler and safer to operate than liquid fuel ICBMs. They have increased reliability and reduced preparation time for launch.
The last “Soviet” product of MIT, created in conditions of economic and organizational stability, was the Topol mobile strategic missile system with a three-stage solid-fuel rocket 15Zh58. It was put into service in 1988.
Based on the Topol, a more advanced RT-2PM2 Topol-M complex was created. It is unique both in its tactical and technical capabilities and in the conditions in which the development took place. The RT-2PM2 entered service in 2000, becoming the first ICBM in history to be created under “inhuman conditions.” The complex began to be developed in the late 80s, when funding in the industry sharply decreased, and was put to testing when the industry was practically in ruins. The situation was aggravated by the collapse of the USSR. For example, the most important participant in the project - the Dnepropetrovsk Yuzhnoye Design Bureau - dropped out of the game in the early 90s.
"Topol-M" has two modifications - mine-based and mobile. It turned out to be easier to install the rocket into the silo - this stage of design and subsequent testing was completed in 1997. Three years later, the mobile launcher was ready. And its official operation in parts of the Strategic Missile Forces began in 2005, a year after the rocket flew to the Hawaiian Islands.
Tests of the missile demonstrated its highest reliability, exceeding the results of tests of other types of missiles. From December 1994 to November 2014, 16 test launches were carried out, both from silo installations and from mobile ones. Only one of them was unsuccessful. In this case, the rocket did not explode, but deviated from the target in flight and was eliminated.
Tricky modernization
The designers had to show maximum ingenuity to get around the slingshots placed by the START-2 Treaty. MIT did not have the right to create a new rocket; Topol-M was declared as a modernization of Topol. The upgraded ICBM should not differ from the original one in any of the following ways:
Number of steps;
Type of fuel for each stage;
Starting weight (no more than 10 percent deviation);
Rocket length (no more than 10 percent deviation);
Diameter of the first stage (no more than 5 percent deviation);
Throwing weight (no more than 5 percent deviation).
In this connection, the tactical and technical characteristics of the Topol-M complex could not undergo significant changes relative to the Topol complex. And the designers concentrated their main efforts on creating a missile with unique capabilities to overcome enemy missile defenses.
At the same time, by using the latest technologies in the rocket, the designers managed to significantly increase its energy capabilities. Thus, the bodies of all three stages are made by winding a “cocoon” from a composite material. This made the rocket lighter and made it possible to throw a larger payload of warheads.
This also had a beneficial effect on flight dynamics. The operating time of the main engines of three stages is 3 minutes. Due to the rapid increase in speed, the vulnerability of the missile in the active part of the trajectory is reduced. An effective control system for several auxiliary engines and rudders ensures maneuver in flight, making the trajectory unpredictable for the enemy.
The fight against missile defense
The Topol-M is equipped with a new type of maneuvering warhead with a yield of 550 kt. At the stage of factory testing, it was capable of overcoming US missile defense with a probability of up to 60% - 65%. Now this figure has been increased to 80%.
The new warhead is more resistant to the damaging effects of a nuclear explosion and to the effects of weapons based on new physical principles. It should be noted that it was completely simulated on a supercomputer and, for the first time in domestic practice, was created without testing components and parts during full-scale explosions.
The missile is equipped with a set of missile defense breakthrough means, which include passive and active decoys, as well as means of distorting the characteristics of the warhead. False targets are indistinguishable from warheads in all ranges of electromagnetic radiation: optical, radar, infrared. They simulate the characteristics of the warhead on the downward portion of the flight path so reliably that they are able to withstand super-resolution radar stations. Means for distorting the characteristics of a warhead include radio-absorbing coatings, infrared radiation simulators, and radio jammers.
The launcher weighing 120 tons is placed on an eight-axle chassis of off-road wheeled tractors manufactured at the Minsk plant. The missile is housed in a fiberglass transport and launch container. The launch is of the mortar type: with the engine turned off, the rocket is pushed out of the container by powder gases to a height of several meters. In the air it is deflected using a powder accelerator. And after this, the main engine is turned on to avoid damage to the launcher by the gas jet of the first stage main engine.
The number of Topol-M complexes on combat duty in the RSVN increases by 5-6 units annually. Now there are 60 mine-based complexes and 18 mobile ones. At the same time, the army has already received a new, more advanced Yars complex, the missile of which is equipped with three warheads with individual guidance. It managed to further reduce the time of the active part of the trajectory, increase shooting accuracy and the likelihood of overcoming missile defense.
Performance characteristics of the Topol-M, Yars and Minuteman-3 complexes
Number of steps: 3 - 3 - 3
Engine type: Solid propellant rocket motor - Solid propellant rocket motor - Solid propellant rocket motor
Location: mobile, mine - mobile, mine - mine
Length: 22.5 m - 22.5 m - 18.2 m
Diameter: 1.86 m - 1.86 m - 1.67 m
Weight: 46500 kg - 47200 kg - 35400 kg
Throwing weight: 1200 kg - 1250 kg - 1150 kg
Charge power: 550 kt - 4x150-300 kt or 10x150 kt - 3x0.3 Mt
Range: 11,000 km - 12,000 km - 13,000 km
Maximum deviation from target: 200 m - 150 m - 280 m
Time of the active part of the trajectory: 3 min - 2.5 - n/a
Trajectory: flat - flat - high
Year of adoption: 2000 - 2009 - 1970.
5:06 / 24.04.16
Strategic Missile Forces: mobile ground-based missile system "Topol" with ICBM 15Zh58
RT-2PM "Topol" (GRAU complex/missile index - 15P158/15Zh58, according to the START treaty - RS-12M, according to NATO classification - SS-25 Sickle, translated - Serp) - Soviet/Russian mobile ground-based strategic missile system with three-stage solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile RT-2PM.
APU 15U168 of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: tvzvezda.ru, Konstantin Semenov
Development history
The development of the Topol strategic mobile complex (RS-12M) with a three-stage intercontinental ballistic missile suitable for placement on a self-propelled vehicle chassis (based on the 15Zh58 ICBM on solid mixed fuel weighing 45 tons with a monoblock nuclear warhead weighing 1 ton) was started on July 19, 1977 years at the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering under the leadership of chief designer Alexander Nadiradze in 1975. After the death of A. Nadiradze (he was director and chief designer of MIT 1961 - 1987, died in 1977), work was continued under the leadership of Boris Lagutin (general designer of MIT 1987 - 1993). The mobile launcher on a wheeled chassis was developed by the Titan Central Design Bureau at the Volgograd Barikady plant.
Alexander Nadiradze / Photo: liveinternet.ru
Boris Lagutin / Photo: liveinternet.ru
Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 668-212 on the development of the Topol missile system was issued on July 19, 1977. The first flight test of the rocket took place on October 27, 1982 at the Kapustin Yar test site and ended unsuccessfully. The second (according to other sources, the first) launch was carried out on February 8, 1983 at the Plesetsk training ground by the combat crew of the 6th Research University and was successful. The first three test launches were carried out from a silo launcher of the RT-2P missile, converted specifically for this work.
Launch of the 15Zh58 / RS-12M Topol ICBM from the Plesetsk training ground / Photo: pressa-rvsn.livejournal.com
On August 10, 1983, the fourth launch of the RS-12M rocket was carried out, it became the first carried out from a self-propelled launcher 15U128. In total, at the stage of joint flight tests of the complex from February 1983 to December 23, 1987, 16 missile launches were carried out. The missile system was put into service on December 1, 1988.
From November 1984 to September 1994, during the period of serial production of elements of the complex and placing missile regiments on combat duty, 32 control and serial launches were carried out (in defense of the party). During the period of operation of the PGRK in the Strategic Missile Forces from April 1988 to November 2005, 33 combat training launches of the RT-2PM missile were carried out.
The RS-12M is a mobile ground-based intercontinental strategic missile, which significantly increases its survivability in combat conditions.
One of the most successful Russian modern complexes was considered to be the Topol mobile ground missile system (SS-25 “Sickle” according to the NATO classification) with the RS-12M missile. It became the first mobile complex equipped with an intercontinental-range missile, put into service after almost two decades of unsuccessful attempts made by various design organizations.
Rocket 15Zh58 (RT-2PM)
The 15Zh58 rocket is designed according to a design with three sustainer stages. To ensure high energy-mass perfection and increase the firing range, a new, more advanced mixed fuel of increased density, with a specific impulse increased by several units compared to the fillers of previously created engines, was used in all sustainer stages.
Layout diagram of the 15Zh58 rocket: 1 - warhead; 2- transition compartment; 3 - stage III sustainer solid propellant rocket engine; 4 - connecting compartment of stage II; 5 - second stage sustainer solid propellant rocket engine; 6 - connecting compartment of stage I; 7 - first stage sustainer solid propellant rocket engine; 8 - tail section of the first stage / Image: rvsn.ruzhany.info
Rocket 15Zh58 of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
All three stages are equipped with solid propellant rocket engines with one fixed nozzle. On the outer surface of the tail section of the first stage there were folding rotary lattice aerodynamic rudders (4 pieces), used for flight control together with gas-jet rudders and 4 lattice aerodynamic stabilizers.
The spent first stage of the Topol ICBM after launch from the Plesetsk test site - the lattice aerodynamic rudders are clearly visible / Photo: www.edu.severodvinsk.ru
Nozzle block of the first stage of the 15Zh58 rocket of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: www.edu.severodvinsk.ru
The second stage structurally consists of a connecting compartment and a sustainer solid propellant rocket engine. The third stage has almost the same design, but it additionally includes a transition compartment to which the head part is attached.
The first stage of the 15Zh58 rocket of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
The second stage of the 15Zh58 rocket of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
The third stage of the 15Zh58 rocket of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
The bodies of the upper stages were made for the first time using the method of continuous winding of organoplastic according to the “cocoon” pattern. The third stage was equipped with a transition compartment for attaching the warhead.
Launch stage of the 15Zh58 missile warhead of the 15P158 “Topol” complex / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
Controlling the firing range was a complex technical task and was carried out by cutting off the third-stage propulsion engine, using a thrust cut-off unit, with eight reversible bells and “windows” cut through by DUZs (DUZ - detonating extended charge) in the organoplastic power structure of the body. The thrust cut-off unit was located on the front bottom of the upper stage body.
An autonomous, inertial control system was developed at NPO Automation and Instrumentation under the leadership of Vladimir Lapygin. The aiming system was developed under the leadership of the chief designer of the Kyiv Arsenal plant, Seraphim Parnyakov.
Vladimir Lapygin / Photo: faceruss.ru
Seraphim Parnyakov / Photo: space.com.ua
The inertial control system has its own digital computer, which made it possible to achieve high shooting accuracy. The control system provides missile flight control, routine maintenance on the missile and launcher, pre-launch preparation and launch of the missile. All pre-launch preparation and launch operations, as well as preparatory and routine work, are fully automated.
In the foreground is a mock-up of an ICBM warhead / Photo: militaryrussia.ru
The warhead is monoblock, nuclear, weighing about 1 ton. The warhead includes a propulsion system and a control system that provides a circular probable deviation (CPD) of 400 m (as our sources say, in the West the accuracy is estimated at 150-200 m). "Topol" is equipped with a set of means to overcome the missile defense of a potential enemy. The nuclear warhead was created at the All-Union Research Institute of Experimental Physics under the leadership of chief designer Samvel Kocharyants.
Samvel Kocharyants / Photo: atomic-energy.ru
According to Western sources, the missile was tested at least once with four individually targetable warheads, but this option was not further developed.
The rocket's flight is controlled by rotary gas-jet and lattice aerodynamic rudders. New nozzle devices for solid fuel engines have been created. To ensure secrecy, camouflage, decoy systems, and camouflage means have been developed. Just like the previous mobile complexes of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering. The 15Zh58 rocket is produced in Votkinsk. The 15Zh58 (RT-2PM) rocket spends its entire service life in a sealed transport and launch container 22 m long and 2 m in diameter.
TPK with 15Zh58 missile / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
Initially, the warranty period for the rocket's operation was set at 10 years. Later the warranty period was extended to 15 years.
Launcher and equipment
During operation, the missile is located in a transport and launch container installed on a mobile launcher. It is mounted on the basis of a seven-axle chassis of a MAZ heavy-duty vehicle. The rocket is launched from a vertical position using a powder pressure accumulator (PAA) placed in a transport and launch container (TPC).
The launcher was developed at the Volgograd Central Design Bureau "Titan" under the leadership of Viktor Shurygin.
Victor Shurygin / Photo: topwar.ru
The seven-axle MAZ-7912 (15U128.1) was used as the chassis of the mobile complex launcher, later - the MAZ-7917 (15U168) with a 14x12 wheel arrangement (Barricades plant in Volgograd).
SPU 15U128.1 on a MAZ-7912 chassis with TPK - Topol complex (official photo from documents under SALT agreements) / Photo: www.fas.org
Serial APU 15U128.1 on the MAZ-7912 chassis, complex 15P158.1 / Photo: military.tomsk.ru/forum
APU 15U168 on a MAZ-7917 chassis with a TPK - Topol complex (official photo from documents under the SALT agreements / Photo: www.fas.org
SPU 15U168 of the 15P158 "Topol" complex. On the starboard side of the SPU, some required structural elements are missing. Exhibition "Patriot", Kubinka, 2015 / Photo: Vitaly Kuzmin
This car from the Minsk Automobile Plant is equipped with a 710 hp diesel engine. Yaroslavl Motor Plant. The vehicle contained a sealed transport and launch container with a diameter of 2 m and a length of 22 m. The mass of the launcher with the missile was about 100 tons. Despite this, the Topol complex had good mobility and maneuverability.
Solid propellant engine charges were developed at the Lyubertsy NPO Soyuz under the leadership of Boris Zhukov (later the association was headed by Zinovy Pak).
Boris Zhukov / Photo: liveinternet.ru
Zinovy Pak / Photo: minpromtorg.gov.ru
Composite materials and the container were developed and manufactured at the Central Research Institute of Special Engineering under the leadership of Viktor Protasov. The steering hydraulic drives of the rocket and the hydraulic drives of the self-propelled launcher were developed at the Moscow Central Research Institute of Automation and Hydraulics.Viktor Protasov / Photo: liveinternet.ru
Some sources reported that the launch could have been carried out from any point on the patrol route, but according to more precise information: “When receiving an order to launch via ASBU, the APU crew is obliged to occupy the nearest route point suitable for launch and deploy the APU.” In the field (i.e., at field infantry fighting stations and infantry fighting vehicles, Topol regiments are on combat duty, as a rule, for 1.5 months in winter and the same amount in summer).
The RS-12M could also be launched directly from the 15U135 Krona special unit, in which the Topols are on combat duty on stationary BSPs. For this purpose, the hangar roof is made retractable.
Unit 15U135 "Krona" (official photo from documents under SALT agreements) / Photo: www.fas.org
Combat readiness (time to prepare for launch) from the moment the order was received until the missile was launched was brought to two minutes.
SPU exit from structure 15U135 (Krona) / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
To ensure the possibility of launching, the launcher is hung on jacks and leveled. These operations enter deployment mode. The container with the rocket is then raised to a vertical position. To do this, in the “Start” mode, the powder pressure accumulator (PAA), located on the APU itself, is activated. It is needed in order for the hydraulic system to work to lift the boom from the TPK to the vertical. In other words, this is an ordinary gas generator. On the Pioneer, the boom was raised (i.e., the hydraulic pump engine was running) driven by the chassis propulsion engine, which led to the need to have a system for maintaining the HD in a “hot state,” duplicating the HD starting system with air cylinders, etc. But This scheme somewhat reduced reliability.
Missile division, on combat duty / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
The type of launch is artillery: after installing the TPK in a vertical position and shooting off its upper protective cap, the first TPK PAD is triggered first - to extend the movable bottom of the TPK in order to “rest” on the ground for greater stability, and then the second PAD pushes the rocket to a height of several meters , after which the first stage propulsion engine is started.
The APU is controlled by PKP "Zenit" (divisional link) and "Granit" (regimental link).
A mobile regimental command post (PKP RP) was developed for the Topol complex. PKP RP units were placed on the MAZ-543 chassis.
Combat duty support vehicle (MOBD) of the Topol complex on the MAZ-543M chassis / Photo: www.fas.org
Composition of PKP RP:
- Unit 15B168 - combat control vehicle
- Unit 15B179 - communication machine 1
- Unit 15B75 - communication machine 2
One MOBD included the functions of 4 units of the Pioneer complex: MDES, canteen, dormitory, MDSO). Those. had diesel units, a utility compartment, a control unit. () The Topol RK APUs were equipped with a modernized RBU system, which made it possible to receive launch commands via the Perimeter system in 3 ranges.
Testing and deployment
In February 1983, the Topol PGRK entered testing. The first flight test of the missile was carried out at the 53rd NIIP MO (now the 1st GIK MO) Plesetsk on February 8, 1983. This and two subsequent launches were made from converted silos of stationary RT-2P missiles. One of the launches was unsuccessful. The series of tests continued until December 23, 1987. In total, more than 70 launches of this missile were carried out.
The head of a silo of type 15P765 / 15P765M at the Plesetsk training ground, footage of the launch of the Topol ICBM / Photo: militaryrussia.ru
In 1984, the construction of stationary structures and the equipment of combat patrol routes for Topol mobile missile systems began in the positional areas of the RT-2P and UR-100 ICBMs being removed from duty and located in the OS silos. Later, the positioning areas of medium-range complexes removed from service under the INF Treaty were arranged.
The development of the elements of the complex proceeded in stages, and apparently the greatest difficulties were associated with the combat control system. After the successful completion of the first series of tests, completed by mid-1985 (15 test launches took place during April 1985), on July 23, 1985, the RT-2PM entered service and was put on combat duty in the Yoshkar-Ola area first regiment of the PGRK. At the same time, development of the combat control system obviously continued.
Test launches of the Topol rocket / Photo: rvsn.ruzhany.info
Serial production of missiles has been located at the plant in Votkinsk (Udmurtia) since 1985, and the mobile launcher was manufactured at the Volgograd plant "Barricades".
In parallel, in 1986, on the basis of the second and third stages of the 15Zh58 rocket, a medium-range mobile soil complex “Speed” was developed with a maximum firing range greater than that of the front-line “Temp-S” complex and shorter than that of the “Pioneer” complex. Such a range, with powerful combat equipment, made it possible to squeeze into the launch weight of the missile, which ensured acceptable total weight and dimensions of the self-propelled launcher. Acceptable for “riding” around the territory of Eastern European countries. Thus, the question of flight time for London, Rome, Bonn was removed.
The first regiment, equipped with a mobile regimental command post, was put on combat duty only on April 28, 1987 (in the area of Nizhny Tagil).
Part of the Topol PGRK was deployed in newly created position areas. After the signing of the INF Treaty in 1987, some position areas of the dismantled Pioneer medium-range PGRK began to be re-equipped for the deployment of the Topol complexes.
Test launches of missiles, as already mentioned, ended on December 23, 1987, but the full testing of the mobile complex, and not just the missile, ended only in December 1988, so the final decision on the adoption of the Topol complex for service dates back to December 1, 1988 g., i.e. more than three years after the start of trial operation.
On May 27, 1988, the first missile regiment with a modernized mobile regimental command post (near Irkutsk) was put on combat duty.
Example of the location of structures at the starting position / Image: rvsn.ruzhany.info
At the time of signing the START I Treaty in 1991, the USSR had 288 Topol missile systems. After the signing of START-1, the deployment of these systems continued. () The first missile regiment with the Topol RK was put on combat duty on July 23, 1985 (according to other sources on July 20), even before the completion of joint flight tests in the 14th Missile Division (Yoshkar-Ola) (commander - Colonel Dremov V . V.), and until the end of 1985 - another missile regiment.
On May 27, 1988, the first regiment entered the database, the divisions of which included an improved mobile command post (PKP) equipped with a new automated control system.
Development of the RT-2PM group. Number of launchers on combat duty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
RT-2PM | 18 | 72 | 81 | 99 | 162 | 234 | 306 | 333 | 351 | 369 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 360 | 345 | 333 | 315 | 291 | 254 | 243 | 213 | 180 | 171 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total ICBMs | 1398 | 1398 | 1398 | 1390 | 1398 | 1398 | 1398 | 1333 | 1305 | 1129 | 975 | 870 | 832 | 748 | 756 |
|
||||||||||||||||
% of RKSN (including RSD) | 0,94 | 3,76 | 4,23 | 5,37 | 9,34 | 14,63 | 21,21 | 24,98 | 26,89 | 32,68 | 36,92 | 41,38 | 43,27 | 48,13 | 47,62 |
|
The Topol missile divisions were deployed near the cities of Barnaul, Verkhnyaya Salda (Nizhny Tagil), Vypolzovo (Bologoe), Yoshkar-Ola, Teykovo, Yurya, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Irkutsk, as well as near the village of Drovyanaya in the Chita region. Nine regiments (81 launchers) were deployed in missile divisions on the territory of Belarus - near the cities of Lida, Mozyr and Postavy.
As of the end of 1996, the Strategic Missile Forces had 360 Topol PGRKs.
Each year, one control launch of the Topol rocket is carried out from the Plesetsk test site. The high reliability of the complex is evidenced by the fact that during its testing and operation, about fifty control and test launches of missiles were carried out. All of them went without a hitch. On November 29, 2005, a mobile-based combat training launch of the RS-12M Topol ICBM was carried out from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the direction of the Kura training ground in Kamchatka. A training missile warhead hit a simulated target at a training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula with specified accuracy. The main purpose of the launch is to check the reliability of the equipment. The missile remained on combat duty for 20 years. This is the first time in the practice of not only domestic, but also global rocket science - a solid-fuel rocket that has been in operation for so many years has been successfully launched. Based on the Topol PGRK with the 15Zh58 missile, the following were created:
1. Complex "Perimeter-RC", missile "Sirena"- a complex with a command missile - a missile system to ensure the delivery of information about the need for a retaliatory strike in the conditions of the cessation of normal communications. The regiment of the Perimeter-RTs ICBM, created on the basis of the 15Zh58 Topol ICBM, took up combat duty in December 1990 in the 8th Missile Division of the Strategic Missile Forces (Yurya, regiment commander - Colonel S.I. Arzamastsev). In December 2011, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Lieutenant General Sergei Karakaev, stated that the Perimeter system exists and is on combat duty. The command missile of the Perimeter-RC complex was tested with five ICBM launches from the Plesetsk test site from August 8 to December 25, 1990.
2. rocket 15Zh58E "Topol-E"- experimental launch vehicle for testing new types of combat equipment for ICBMs, tentative name 15Zh58E.
Launch of the Topol-E ICBM, Kapustin Yar training ground, site 107, 2009 / Photo: militaryphotos.net.
Projections of the Topol and Topol-E missiles (15Zh58 and 15Zh58E) - SS-25 SICKLE / Image: militaryrussia.ru
3. "Start-1" - satellite launch vehicle. The development of the launch vehicle began in 1989. The first launch was made on March 25, 1993. The design is a 5-stage launch vehicle. Payload mass for low orbit - 500 kg
Launch vehicle "Start-1" in the workshop of the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant / Photo: www.iz-article.ru
Reduction
According to the START-2 treaty, 360 units of the Topol missile system were reduced by 2007.
After the collapse of the USSR, some of the Topols remained on the territory of Belarus. On August 13, 1993, the withdrawal of the Topol Strategic Missile Forces group from Belarus began, and on November 27, 1996 it was completed.
As of July 2006, 243 Topol missile systems were still on combat duty (Teykovo, Yoshkar-Ola, Yurya, Nizhny Tagil, Novosibirsk, Kansk, Irkutsk, Barnaul, Vypolzovo.
An interesting fact is that the Topol complex is the first Soviet strategic missile system, the name of which was declassified in the Soviet press in an article refuting accusations from the American side that Russia was allegedly testing a new missile system in violation of the current arms reduction treaty .
Tactical and technical indicators
Performance characteristics complex "Topol" |
|
Preparation time for launch, min | 2 |
Thermonuclear charge power, Mt | 0,55 |
Firing accuracy (CAO), m | 900/200* |
Area of combat patrol area, km 2 | 125000 |
Launcher | 7-axle chassis MAZ-7310 |
Guaranteed shelf life of the missile in the TPK, years | 10
(extended to 15) |
Launcher type | mobile, group launcher with mortar launch |
Intercontinental ballistic missile 15Zh58 (RT-2PM) |
|
Firing range, km | 10500 |
Number of steps | 3 + dilution stage combat blocks. |
Engine | Solid propellant rocket engine |
Start type | ground from TPK due to PAD |
Length: | |
- full, m | 21,5 |
- without HF, m | 18,5 |
- first stage, m | 8,1 |
- second stage, m | 4,6 |
- third stage, m | 3,9 |
- head part, m | 2,1 |
Diameter: | |
- first stage housing, m | 1,8 |
- second stage housing, m | 1,55 |
- third stage housing, m | 1,34 |
- TPK (transport and launch container), m | 2,0 |
Launch weight, t | 45,1 |
Weight of the loaded first stage of the rocket, t | 27,8 |
Head part | monobloc detachable |
Head mass, kg | 1000 |
Control system | autonomous, inertial with digital computer |
Autonomous launcher (APU) |
|
Number of missiles on launcher | 1 |
Base - wheeled | MAZ-7912, MAZ-7917 |
Wheel formula | 14x12 |
Weight: | |
- launcher without TPK, t | 52,94 |
Overall dimensions (without TPK/with TPK): | |
- length, m | 19,520/22,303 |
- width, m | 3,850/4,5 |
- height, m | 3,0/4,5 |
Engine | diesel V-58-7 (12V) |
Power, hp | 710 |
Fuel capacity, l | 825 |
Speed, km/h | 40 |
Cruising range, km | 400 |
Time to transfer to combat position, minutes. | 2 |
Combat duty support vehicle (MOBD) |
|
Weight, kg | 43500 |
Dimensions: | |
- length, m | 15,935 |
- width, m | 3,23 |
- height, m | 4,415 |
Power, hp | 525 |
Cruising range, km | |
Type | garage with sliding roof |
Purpose | for storing one SPU |
Built, units | 408 |
Dimensions: | |
- length, m | 30,4 |
- width, m | 8,1 |
- height, m | 7,2 |
Composition of connections and parts |
|
Missile division | 3-5 missile regiments (KP and 9 SPU in each). |
Regimental command post | stationary and mobile "Barrier" or "Granite" (based on MAZ-543M). |
Division composition: | |
- preparation and start-up group, pcs. | 3 |
- combat control and communications group |
What's next...
At the end of the 1980s, on a competitive basis, the development of a universal dual-based ICBM began - silo-based and on a mobile installation. At MIT, which traditionally dealt with soil complexes, they began to develop a mobile complex, and at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine (Dnepropetrovsk) - a mine complex. But in 1991, all work was completely transferred to the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering. The design was headed by Boris Lagutin, and after his retirement in 1997, academician Yuri Solomonov, appointed general designer of MIT.
But that's another story...