SS-13 Savage
RT-2 SS-13 Savage | |
---|---|
Type | Intercontinental ballistic missile |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1968-1976 |
Used by | Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces |
Specifications | |
Weight | 45,100 kg (99,400 lb) |
Length | 21.5 m (71 ft) |
| |
Engine | Three-stage solid propellant |
Flight altitude | type=hydrogen |
Guidance system | autonomous inertial guidance |
Accuracy | Maximum error: 4 km, CEP: 1900 m, |
Launch platform | silo-based |
The RT-2 was an intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the Soviet Union, which was in service from December 1968[1] until 1976.[2] It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-13 Savage and carried the GRAU index 8K98. It was designed by OKB-1[1] and about 60 were built by 1972.
History
The RT-2 was the first solid-propellant ICBM in Soviet service, and was a development of the earlier RT-1 series. It was a three-stage inertially-guided missile that is comparable to the American Minuteman III. It was armed with a single 600 kiloton warhead and was silo-launched, although a rail-based version was contemplated by Soviet planners. It was deployed in the Yoshkar-Ola missile field.
The two upper stages of the RT-2 were used to develop the RT-15 mobile IRBM system. The RT-2PM Topol is supposedly a modernized version of the RT-2
Operations
The RT-2 was capable of delivering a 1,200 lb (540 kg) class payload to a maximum operational range of approximately 5,500 nautical miles[3]
Command and Control
Numbers of launchers were monitored by a single launch control center (LCC). The hardened and dispersed silo concept increased system survivability and provided steady environmental controls from the solid-propellant motors. Normal control of the RT-2 missile force was exercised by Headquarters RVSN, through an intermediate RVSN Army and launch complex headquarters (HCC). A launch complex consisted of an HCC and several LCCs, monitoring numerous underground launchers.
Flight test history
Test Launches
RT-2 Test Launches | |||||
Date | System | Location | Range (NM) | Note | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 Feb 1966 | RT-2 Mod | Kapustin Yar |
General Characteristics
- Length: 20 m (65.6 ft)
- Diameter: 1.7 m (5.57 ft)
- Launch Weight: 34,000 kg (33.46 tons)
- Guidance: inertial guidance
- Propulsion: solid, three-stage
- Warhead: 600kt nuclear
- Range: 8,000 km (5,000 mi)
Operators
- Soviet Union
- The Strategic Rocket Forces were the only operator of the RT-2.
Photo gallery
-
RT-2 coverage of United States
-
RT-2 launch facility configuration
-
RT-2 missile complex configuration
See also
References
- Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-Century Artillery. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. ISBN 1-58663-299-X
- S.P.Korolev RSC Energia Rocket RT-2P
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to RT-2. |