Sarmat ICBM missile |
"The first regiment, equipped with Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, will enter combat duty as scheduled by the end of 2022," Putin said as quoted by TASS, Thursday (22/4/2021).
According to Putin, Russia's combat potential is also increasing with other weapons.
"The number of attack systems with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, warships equipped with high precision hypersonic weapons as I said, Kinzhal, Kalibr missiles continues to grow," he said.
"In the near future, the Tsirkon hypersonic missile will enter service. Development of other modern weapons is ongoing in strict adherence to the plans of the armed forces," Putin said.
The RS-28 Sarmat missile is an advanced silo-based system with a heavy liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. This missile has been under development since the 2000s to replace the Voyevoda R-36M2 ICBM.
Weighing around 200 tonnes and having a throwing weight of around 10 tonnes, the Sarmat is capable of penetrating current and future missile defense systems.
The RS-28 Sarmat missile, a heavy thermonuclear ICBM, is one of the new advanced weapons in Russia's strategic arsenal. The missile was relaunched in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.