Russia Test-Fires New Sarmat ICBM

Russia test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, a launch President Vladimir Putin described as a step in modernizing the country's nuclear forces. Putin hailed the test of the Sarmat missile and called it the most powerful missile in the world.

He said the combined power of the Sarmat’s individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart.

The missile is scheduled to enter combat service at the end of the year. The Sarmat was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda. Putin stated it is as powerful as the Voyevoda but with higher precision.

It is capable of suborbital flight, has a range of more than 35,000 kilometers (21,700 miles) and has extended capability to penetrate any prospective missile defenses. Development of the Sarmat began in 2011. Before Tuesday it had only one known successful test and reportedly suffered a massive explosion during an abortive test in 2024.

The Sarmat, designated “Satan II” in the West, is meant to replace about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. The launch occurred days after Putin declared the conflict in Ukraine is coming to an end. On Saturday he oversaw a military parade on Red Square commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

That parade did not include heavy weapons for the first time in nearly two decades. Russia has deployed the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound. The first Avangard vehicles have already entered service.

Russia has also commissioned the new nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile and used the conventionally-armed version twice to strike Ukraine. Putin announced Russia is in the final stages of development of the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik cruise missile powered by miniature atomic reactors.

The Poseidon is designed to explode near enemy coastlines and cause a radioactive tsunami. The Burevestnik has virtually unlimited range thanks to nuclear propulsion.

““This is the most powerful missile in the world.””

“— President Vladimir Putin”

““We were forced to consider ensuring our strategic security in the face of the new reality and the need to maintain a strategic balance of power and parity.””

“— President Vladimir Putin Putin said Russia will continue to modernise and develop its strategic nuclear forces. The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the U.S. expired in February, leaving no caps on the world's two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has overseen efforts to upgrade the Soviet-built components of the Russian nuclear triad, deploying hundreds of new land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, commissioning new nuclear submarines and modernizing nuclear-capable bombers. Russia’s effort to revamp its nuclear forces prompted the United States to launch a costly modernization of its own arsenal.”