Deep inside Russia’s military test ranges and beneath the world’s oceans, in silos, hangars, and on submarine decks, hundreds of missiles sit on alert – from road-mobile intercontinental systems to hypersonic glide vehicles designed to punch through any defense network.
Their launchers are scattered across the country, nuclear subs quietly patrol the high seas, and strategic bombers can be airborne within minutes.
Today, Russia’s missile forces form one of the most technologically diverse and sophisticated arsenals anywhere in the world. They blend the engineering legacy of the Soviet era with cutting-edge innovations – from upgraded solid-fuel ICBMs to the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, and new-generation systems poised to enter service in the post-INF era.
Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN)
The Strategic Rocket Forces are the backbone of Russia’s nuclear deterrent – land-based missile systems with intercontinental and intermediate ranges. Historically, both the Soviet Union and Russia spread the work on strategic missile design across several engineering bureaus, each with its own specialty. Together they built a force where different systems complement each other, but also compete in terms of technology.
Today, the RVSN is one of the most modernized branches of the Russian military: over 95 percent of its missile systems are new or upgraded to the latest standard.
Topol-M and Yars: At the heart of the RVSN’s mobile arsenal are the solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology – the Topol-M and its successor, the Yars.
The Topol-M, deployed between 1997 and 2012, carries a single, high-yield megaton-class warhead.
The Yars, which entered service in 2009, is an upgraded Topol-M equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). Each missile can carry three to six warheads ranging from roughly 100 kilotons to over 300 kilotons.
Most of these missiles are road-mobile, mounted on heavy multi-axle launchers built at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. The Yars continues to receive incremental upgrades, and in the next couple of years it will fully replace the remaining Topol-M systems, which in turn will be converted into Start-M space launch vehicles.
Early ballistic missiles, from Germany’s V-2 to the Soviet R-1, carried non-separating warheads, meaning the entire body of the missile traveled to the target. That design wasted mass and reduced accuracy. Modern warheads separate from their boosters, can deploy decoys to confuse missile defenses, and often come in MIRV configurations. Some are maneuverable reentry vehicles (MARVs), capable of both altering their altitude and changing direction in order to evade interception.
Avangard – hypersonic pioneer: Since 2019, the RVSN has fielded two regiments of the Avangard system – a UR-100NUTTH ICBM fitted with a maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicle. Capable of flying at extreme speeds while evading any known missile defense, the Avangard remains unique in the world.
Sarmat – the heavy hitter: Coming soon is the Sarmat heavy liquid-fuel ICBM, developed by the Makeyev Design Bureau. Sarmat will be able to carry several Avangard glide vehicles or up to 10–14 conventional warheads, with the option of attacking via the South Pole in order to bypass northern missile defenses. With a throw weight of about 10 tons, it will replace the legendary RS-20V Voyevoda (NATO designation: SS-18 “Satan”), a Cold War icon of Soviet nuclear power.
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