Strategic Ballistic Missiles

[just me]

Why Russia firing an IRBM at Ukraine is a big deal

The war in Ukraine has seen its share of escalations by both sides. But Russia firing an intermediate-range ballistic missile might be the biggest one yet. Here is why

indianexpress.com

“I can confirm that Russia did launch an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile,” Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, said in a media briefing. Nonetheless, “this was a new type of lethal capability that was deployed on the battlefield,” she added."
According to the US Department of Defense analysis, the experimental IRBM was based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh ICBM model, and Russia likely possesses only a handful of these missiles at present. Putin referred to the missile as ‘Oreshnik’ (the hazel)."

I was wrong. It was based off the RS-26 Rubezh, most likely with one less stage so it would not be considered an ICBM.

"Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at Oslo University who specialises in missile technology and nuclear strategy, told Reuters that the most significant aspect of the weapon was that it carried a MIRV (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) payload. “This payload is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles,” he said.

This is what has rattled Ukraine, despite an IRBM being less threatening than an ICBM. This is the first time Moscow has deployed nuclear-capable weapons in the Ukraine war."

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.

Modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles are closely related to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with ranges of over 5,500 kilometres (3,000 nmi), and in many cases SLBMs and ICBMs may be part of the same family of weapons. wikipedia

 

[just me]

Further improvement of the R-36 led to the design of the R-36M, which provided a theoretical first-strike capability—the ability to destroy the United States' LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM silos and launch control centers before they could retaliate. However, neither the Soviet Union nor the Russian Federation have ever publicly delineated the missile's particular role in their arsenal. The initial design of the R-36M called for a single massive 12 Mt warhead to be delivered over a range of 10,600 km. The missile was first tested in 1973 but this test ended in failure. After several delays the R-36M was deployed in December 1975. This design was delivered with a single 18–20 Mt warhead and a range of just over 11,000 km. This new version was given a new codename by NATO: SS-18 Satan.

The control system for this rocket was designed at NPO "Electropribor": (Kharkiv, Ukraine). wikipedia

Kharkiv, Ukraine