The new Russian Sarmat intercontinental missile will be operational by the end of 2026. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin following a meeting with General Serghei Karakayev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, on the results of the launch tests. The second test launch of the Sarmat took place at the end of April this year from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, following a test carried out in 2022.
Putin: «Power four times greater than Western systems»
“At the end of this year, the Sarmat will actually be put into combat service,” Putin said. “The total power of the warhead – added the head of the Kremlin – is more than four times greater than that of any other equivalent Western system”.
Radius of 35 thousand kilometers and suborbital trajectory
The Russian president underlined that the characteristics of the Sarmat missile make it capable of “penetrating all missile defense systems, both existing and future ones”, and specified that it can travel not only according to a ballistic trajectory, but also suborbital, with a range of action of over 35,000 kilometres.
Putin also announces Poseidon and Burevestnik
Putin also announced developments in the completion of the Poseidon and Burevestnik weapons systems. “Work on two low-power nuclear-powered systems is in the final stages: the Poseidon unmanned underwater carrier and the Burevestnik long-range cruise missile,” the head of state said.