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Dr. Nikolai Sokov, CNS Senior Research Associate
Created: February 1999

The history of Soviet/Russian ICBMs is generally broken down into four stages.

1. The first Soviet ICBM, the R-7 (US designation SS-6 Sapwood) was created by the Korolev design bureau in 1957; in 1960 its modification, the SS-7A, was deployed. Almost simultaneously, the Yangel design bureau created the R-16 ICBM the first silo-based ICBM; deployment began in 1963. The Korolev design bureau created one more ICBM, the R-9A, which was adopted for deployment in 1965, but deployment was limited.

2. The second generation of ICBMs was different not only in terms of technical characteristics, but also in terms of basing mode. First-generation ICBMs had to be launched from a command point co-located with their launcher,  second-generation ICBMs could be operated and launched from a separate location. The concept was called "a separate start position" ("odinochnyi start"). The following deployed missiles constitute the second generation:
 

Soviet Type	("internal" designation unknown)	UR-100 (K, U)	RT-2
START Designation	R-36	RS-10	RS-12
US/ Designation	SS-9*	SS-11	SS-13
Design Bureau	Yangel	Chelomey	Korolev
Type of Fuel	liquid	liquid	solid
Number of Warheads	1-3	1-3	1
Deployment Began	1967	1967	1968
Maximum Deployed/Year	288 /1972	1030 /1974	60 /1970

*) the SS-9 was the first Soviet "heavy" ICBM.

3. The third stage of ICBM development is represented by MIRVed ICBMs:
 

Soviet Type	MR MR-100	R-36M	UR-100N
START Designation	RS-16	RS-20	RS-18
US Designation	SS-17	SS-18	SS-19
Design Bureau	Yangel	Yangel	Chelomey
Type of Fuel	liquid	liquid	liquid
Number of Warheads	1-4	10	6
Deployment Began	1975	1975	1975
Maximum Deployed/Year	150 /1980	308 /1980	360 /1974

4. The current stage of ICBM development includes ICBMs with dual basing mode -- silo-based ("separate start position") and mobile (the SS-25 ICBM was deployed only in mobile mode, but its modification, the SS-27 (RS-12M2), is both silo- and road-based).
 

Soviet Type	RT-23UTTKh	Topol RT-2PM
START Designation	RS-22	RS-12M
US Designation	SS-24	SS-25
Basing Mode	silo; rail-mobile	road-mobile
Design Bureau	Yangel (Utkin)	Nadiradze (Lagutin)
Type of Fuel	solid	solid
Number of Warheads	10	1
Deployment Began	1987	1985
Maximum Deployed/Year	92 (both modes) /1992	340 /1993

Adapted from Alexander Pikayev, ed., Raketnaya Moshch Rossii: Proshloye i Nastoyashcheye, (Moscow: Committee on Critical Technologies and Nonproliferation; Monterey Institute of International Studies, 1996)
{Entered 2/2/99 NS}

Page last updated 5 February 1999
For major recent developments, see the General Nuclear Weapons Developments file.

Comments or questions? E-mail Nikolai Sokov:  nsokovATmiis.edu.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2003 by MIIS.

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