RT-2PM Topol (SS-25 / SS-27 Sickle)

History

In addition to a fleet of land-based silos and ballistic missile-launching submarines, the Russian Army maintains a squadron of mobile ballistic missile launchers (Strategic Missile Forces) as SS-25 "Sickles" through the RT-2PM "Topol" design known to NATO ". Introduced in 1985, these large vehicles are currently in service with the modern Russian army.

Development of the missile component began in July 1977 as an improved version of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of reaching anywhere in the world. It would be used as a successor to an aging line of earlier ICBM models before entering service with the Soviet Army.

By the mid-1980s, the missile had entered the required testing phase and entered service later that year. By the 1990s improvements were made to the production line to make the weapon system a viable component on the modern battlefield.

The missile assembly was named "Topol". It weighs about 99,400 pounds, is 97 feet long and nearly 6 feet in diameter. The warhead is a single 800-kiloton accessory, and the rocket motor is a three-stage solid-fuel rocket motor.

The missile has a range of up to 6,200 miles, and the missile can reach speeds of Mach 21 (16,000 miles per hour). An autonomous inertial guidance system guides the rocket along its path.

Aspen's carrier part is a super heavy truck of the MZKT-79221 series. These large machines provide the power and propulsion needed to carry large ballistic missiles back and forth. The vehicle design features a multi-wheel arrangement with eight axles, each with two pairs of wheels. The vehicle acts as a transport-install-launcher for Topol missiles and is the successor to the earlier MAZ-7917 vehicle, which itself inherited the older MAZ-547 truck. The operator is housed in a split front cab at the front of the truck, which overhangs the front-most axle.

The Poplar rocket itself towers above the cabin.

The Russian army currently (2017) has more than 350 Topol missiles deployed. Modification and modernization of the system continues.

The Topol series is in service with the 35th Missile Division in Barnaul, which has about 36 mobile launchers - although Western observers believe there may be as many as 100.

The RT-2PM2 "Topol-M" is the latest version of the mobile topol system, which NATO refers to as the SS-27 "Scythe B".

Specification

Basic

Roles

Performance

Armor

1 x 104,000 ICBMs.

Changes