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Country: Russia
Type: ICBM
Introduction: 1975 |
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The R-36M was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployd by the USSR during the Cold War. It was given the NATO reporting name SS-18 Satan; this ICBM gave the Soviet Union a nominal first strike advantage over the USA because of its very heavy throw weight.
The R-36M (SS-18) is similar to the R-36 in design, but has the capacity to mount a single warhead of up to 20mt (megatons) of TNT in yield, or a multiple independently-tartgeted re-entry vehicle (MIRV) payload of up to 10 warheads, each with a 550-750 kt (kiloton) yield. Throw-weight of the missile is 8,800 kg. This makes the Soviet R-36M the heaviest ICBM ever deployed.
At full deployment, before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, 308 R-36M launch silos were operational. After the breakup of the USSR, 204 of these were located on the territory of the Russian Federation and 104 on the territory of newly independent Kazakhstan. In the next few years Russia reduced the number of R-36M launch silos to 154 to conform with the START I treaty. The missiles in Kazakhstan were all deactivated by 1995. The subsequent START II treaty was to eliminate all R-36M missiles but it did not enter into force and the missiles remain in service in Russia.
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| General Information |
| Developed by |
Russia |
| Deployed by |
Russia |
| Development Year |
1969(R-36M), 1976(R-36U) |
| Deployment Year |
1975(R-36M), 1980(R-36U) |
| Retirement Year |
1981, xxxx |
| Launcher |
hardened silos (modified SS-9 silo) |
| Number deployed |
422(as of START-II), 209(Sep.1990), 180(1998) |
| Design |
Yuzhnoye Design Bureau |
| Manufacturer |
Yuzhnoye Machine-Building Plant at Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine |
| Dimensions and Performance |
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Length |
36.6m(R-36M), 36.3m(R-36MU) |
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Body Diameter |
3.0m, 3.0m |
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Launch Weight |
209,600kg, 211,100kg |
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Range |
16,000km(R-36M Mod 1), 10,200km(R-36M Mod 2), 11,200km(R-36M Mod 3), 11,500km(R-36MU Mod 4) |
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Accuracy |
1,000m, 920m CEP |
| Components |
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Propulsion |
2-stage liquid-fuel rocket motor (with bus) |
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Engine |
1st-stage: RD-251 460ton thrust, 2nd-stage: RD-0229/0230 77ton thrust |
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Payload |
single warhead (R-36M Mod 1), 8 x MIRV warhead (R-36M Mod 2), single warhead (R-36M Mod 3), 10 x MIRV warhead (R-36MU Mod 4) 8,800kg |
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Warhead |
18-20MT(R-36M Mod 1), 8 x 900kT(R-36M Mod 2), 20-25MT(R-36M Mod 3), 10 x 550-750kT(R-36MU Mod 4) |
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Guidance |
inertial |
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