Russia rearms strategic missile forces

March 20, 2019

Army Recognition – The Russian military in six years accepted into service 217 strategic ballistic missiles, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told the State Duma defense committee. Since 2012, the Strategic Missile Forces have received 109 RS-24 Yars ICBM and the Navy – 108 ballistic submarine-launched missiles. Russia is actively rearming its strategic nuclear forces, the Izvestia daily writes.

The memorandum on primary data of START-1 Treaty fixed the detailed composition of Soviet and US strategic offensive arms in the autumn of 1990 to implement the main idea of the treaty and halve the arsenal of strategic carriers. The Soviet Union had 2,500 ICBM, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers (a total of 10,271 nuclear charges). The heavy bombers will not be considered, as their share was relatively small and did not affect strategic stability as missiles did. But the United States had an advantage in them (574 aircraft and 2353 charges against 162 and 955 respectively of the USSR).

The Soviet ground grouping of the Strategic Missile Forces comprised 1,398 ICBM and 6,612 warheads. It consisted of 1,077 silo-based ICM (326 UR-100K, 40 RT-2, 47 MR-UR-100, 300 UR-100N (UTTKh), 308 R-36M2, 56 RT-23 UTTKh), as well as 321 mobile missiles (288 automobile-carried Topol and 33 RT-23UTTKh on trains. The seaborne strategic nuclear force comprised 940 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (192 R-27, 280 R-29, 224 R-29R, 112 R-29RM, 12 R-31, 120 R-39) with 2804 warheads.

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