Russia successfully test-launched ’the most powerful missile in the world’, Vladimir Putin stated yesterday.
The Sarmat is an intercontinental ballistic missile that the Kremlin asserts can deploy nuclear warheads five times faster than the speed of sound.
The Russian president mentioned that the so-called ’Satan II’ weapon will be operational by the end of the year.
’We were compelled to consider ensuring our strategic security in light of the new reality and the necessity to maintain a strategic balance of power and parity,’ he added.
The Satan II has a range of over 21,700 miles, according to the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency.
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Colonel-General Sergei Karakayev announced that the missile was tested at 11:15 am local time yesterday at a military range.
’The launch was successful, and the mission was accomplished,’ he was quoted by the Interfax news agency.
The missile will first be deployed in Krasnoyarsk, about 2,000 miles east of Moscow, Karakayev mentioned.
Russian defense analysts were equally thrilled by the launch, with one telling the Russian-owned TASS news agency that it provides Moscow the power to ’put an end’ to its enemies.
This will only occur if the said enemy is attempting to launch ’a nuclear missile attack on Russia or initiates full-scale military operations against our country,’ said Igor Korotchenko, the director of the Centre for Analysis of the World Arms Trade.
This successful test had been long-awaited by Putin, who first introduced the fast-flying Sarmat with much fanfare in 2018.
He claimed the ’invisible’ missile can easily outsmart American missile defenses, a notion that experts at the time dismissed as bluffing.
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During his State of the Union address, Putin showed a demo video of the Sarmat soaring over a mountain range, zigzagging around the Atlantic before heading towards the west coast of the US.
He said: ’We would consider any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies to be a nuclear attack on our country.’
In 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed the missile had been successfully tested, marking the first step in constructing a ’shield’ around Russia.
Vladimir Degtyar, general designer of JSC Makeyev State Rocket Center, which constructs the Sarmat, remarked: ’The Sarmat will enhance the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces over the next 40-50 years, reliably ensuring Russia’s security against external threats.
’And in today’s geopolitical conditions, it is our reliable shield, the main factor of nuclear deterrence, and a guarantee of maintaining peace.’
However, the missile’s deployment has been delayed by less successful launches.
One test launch in 2024 resulted in an explosion in its silo, creating a 200-foot-wide crater in northwestern Russia.
Money & Markets Editor
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