The fastest rockets in the world. Intercontinental ballistic missiles - TOP10

The ICBM is an impressive human creation. Huge size, thermonuclear power, column of flame, roar of engines and the menacing roar of launch... However, all this exists only on the ground and in the first minutes of launch. After they expire, the rocket ceases to exist. Further into the flight and to carry out the combat mission, only what remains of the rocket after acceleration is spent - its payload.

With long launch ranges, the payload of an intercontinental ballistic missile extends into space for many hundreds of kilometers. It rises into the layer of low-orbit satellites, 1000-1200 km above the Earth, and is located among them for a short time, only slightly lagging behind their general run. And then it begins to slide down along an elliptical trajectory...

What exactly is this load?

A ballistic missile consists of two main parts - the accelerating part and the other for the sake of which the acceleration is started. The accelerating part is a pair or three of large multi-ton stages, filled to capacity with fuel and with engines at the bottom. They give the necessary speed and direction to the movement of the other main part of the rocket - the head. The booster stages, replacing each other in the launch relay, accelerate this warhead in the direction of the area of its future fall.

The head of a rocket is a complex load consisting of many elements. It contains a warhead (one or more), a platform on which these warheads are placed along with all other equipment (such as means of deceiving enemy radars and missile defenses), and a fairing. There is also fuel and compressed gases in the head part. The entire warhead will not fly to the target. It, like the ballistic missile itself earlier, will split into many elements and simply cease to exist as a single whole. The fairing will separate from it not far from the launch area, during the operation of the second stage, and somewhere along the way it will fall. The platform will collapse upon entering the air of the impact area. Only one type of element will reach the target through the atmosphere. Warheads.

Up close, the warhead looks like an elongated cone, a meter or one and a half long, with a base as thick as a human torso. The nose of the cone is pointed or slightly blunt. This cone is special aircraft, whose task is to deliver weapons to the target. We'll come back to warheads later and take a closer look at them.

Head of the "Peacemaker"
The pictures show the breeding stages of the American heavy ICBM LGM0118A Peacekeeper, also known as MX. The missile was equipped with ten 300 kt multiple warheads. The missile was withdrawn from service in 2005.

Pull or push?

In a missile, all warheads are located in the so-called breeding stage, or “bus”. Why bus? Because, having first been freed from the fairing, and then from the last booster stage, the propagation stage carries the warheads, like passengers, along given stops, along their trajectories, along which the deadly cones will disperse to their targets.

The “bus” is also called the combat stage, because its work determines the accuracy of pointing the warhead to the target point, and therefore combat effectiveness. The propagation stage and its operation is one of the biggest secrets in a rocket. But we will still take a slight, schematic look at this mysterious step and its difficult dance in space.

The dilution stage has different shapes. Most often, it looks like a round stump or a wide loaf of bread, on which warheads are mounted on top, points forward, each on its own spring pusher. Warheads are pre-positioned at precise separation angles (at the missile base, manually, using theodolites) and face different sides, like a bunch of carrots, like a hedgehog’s needles. The platform, bristling with warheads, occupies a given position in flight, gyro-stabilized in space. And at the right moments, warheads are pushed out of it one by one. They are ejected immediately after completion of acceleration and separation from the last accelerating stage. Until (you never know?) they shot down this entire undiluted hive with anti-missile weapons or something on board the breeding stage failed.

But this happened before, at the dawn of multiple warheads. Now breeding presents a completely different picture. If earlier the warheads “stuck” forward, now the stage itself is in front along the course, and the warheads hang from below, with their tops back, inverted, like bats. The “bus” itself in some rockets also lies upside down, in a special recess in the upper stage of the rocket. Now, after separation, the breeding stage does not push, but drags the warheads along with it. Moreover, it drags, bracing itself with four “paws” placed crosswise, deployed in front. At the ends of these metal legs are rearward-facing thrust nozzles for the expansion stage. After separation from the accelerating stage, the “bus” very accurately, precisely sets its movement in the beginning of space with the help of its own powerful guidance system. He himself occupies the exact path of the next warhead - its individual path.

Then the special inertia-free locks that held the next detachable warhead are opened. And not even separated, but simply now no longer connected with the stage, the warhead remains motionless hanging here, in complete weightlessness. The moments of her own flight began and flowed by. Like one individual berry next to a bunch of grapes with other warhead grapes not yet plucked from the stage by the breeding process.

Fire ten
K-551 "Vladimir Monomakh" - Russian nuclear submarine strategic purpose(project 955 "Borey"), armed with 16 solid-fuel Bulava ICBMs with ten multiple warheads.

Delicate movements

Now the task of the stage is to crawl away from the warhead as delicately as possible, without disturbing its precisely set (targeted) movement with gas jets of its nozzles. If a supersonic jet of a nozzle hits a separated warhead, it will inevitably add its own additive to the parameters of its movement. Over the subsequent flight time (which is half an hour to fifty minutes, depending on the launch range), the warhead will drift from this exhaust “slap” of the jet half a kilometer to a kilometer sideways from the target, or even further. It will drift without obstacles: there is space, they slapped it - it floated, not being held back by anything. But is a kilometer sideways accurate today?

To avoid such effects, it is precisely the four upper “legs” with engines that are spaced apart to the sides that are needed. The stage is, as it were, pulled forward on them so that the exhaust jets go to the sides and cannot catch the warhead separated by the belly of the stage. All thrust is divided between four nozzles, which reduces the power of each individual jet. There are other features too. For example, if there is a donut-shaped propulsion stage (with a void in the middle - with this hole it is put on the rocket’s upper stage, like wedding ring finger) of the Trident-II D5 missile, the control system determines that the separated warhead still falls under the exhaust of one of the nozzles, then the control system turns off this nozzle. Silences the warhead.

The stage, gently, like a mother from the cradle of a sleeping child, fearing to disturb his peace, tiptoes away into space on the three remaining nozzles in low thrust mode, and the warhead remains on the aiming trajectory. Then the “donut” stage with the cross of the thrust nozzles is rotated around the axis so that the warhead comes out from under the zone of the torch of the switched off nozzle. Now the stage moves away from the remaining warhead on all four nozzles, but for now also at low throttle. When a sufficient distance is reached, the main thrust is turned on, and the stage vigorously moves into the area of the target trajectory of the next warhead. There it slows down in a calculated manner and again very precisely sets the parameters of its movement, after which it separates the next warhead from itself. And so on - until it lands each warhead on its trajectory. This process is fast, much faster than you read about it. In one and a half to two minutes, the combat stage deploys a dozen warheads.

The abysses of mathematics

What has been said above is quite enough to understand how a warhead’s own path begins. But if you open the door a little wider and look a little deeper, you will notice that today the rotation in space of the breeding stage carrying the warhead is an area of application of quaternion calculus, where the on-board attitude control system processes the measured parameters of its movement with a continuous construction on board the orientation quaternion. Quaternion is such a complex number (over the field complex numbers lies a flat body of quaternions, as mathematicians would say in their precise language of definitions). But not with the usual two parts, real and imaginary, but with one real and three imaginary. In total, the quaternion has four parts, which, in fact, is what the Latin root quatro says.

The dilution stage does its job quite low, immediately after the boost stages are turned off. That is, at an altitude of 100−150 km. And there is also the influence of gravitational anomalies on the Earth’s surface, heterogeneities in the even gravitational field surrounding the Earth. Where are they from? From the uneven terrain, mountain systems, occurrence of rocks of different densities, oceanic depressions. Gravitational anomalies either attract the stage to themselves with additional attraction, or, conversely, slightly release it from the Earth.

In such heterogeneities, complex ripples of local gravitational field, the breeding stage must position the warheads with precision accuracy. To do this, it was necessary to create a more detailed map of the Earth's gravitational field. It is better to “explain” the features of a real field in systems of differential equations that describe precise ballistic motion. These are large, capacious (to include details) systems of several thousand differential equations, with several tens of thousands of constant numbers. And the gravitational field itself at low altitudes, in the immediate near-Earth region, is considered as a joint attraction of several hundred point masses of different “weights” located near the center of the Earth in in a certain order. This achieves a more accurate simulation of the Earth's real gravitational field along the rocket's flight path. And more accurate operation of the flight control system with it. And also... but that's enough! - Let's not look further and close the door; What has been said is enough for us.

Flight without warheads

The breeding stage, accelerated by the missile towards the same geographical area where the warheads should fall, continues its flight along with them. After all, she can’t fall behind, and why should she? After disengaging the warheads, the stage urgently attends to other matters. She moves away from the warheads, knowing in advance that she will fly a little differently from the warheads, and not wanting to disturb them. The breeding stage also devotes all its further actions to warheads. This maternal desire to protect the flight of her “children” in every possible way continues for the rest of her short life.

Short, but intense.

Space won't last long
The ICBM payload spends most of its flight in space object mode, rising to an altitude three times the height of the ISS. The trajectory of enormous length must be calculated with extreme accuracy.

After the separated warheads, it is the turn of other wards. The most amusing things begin to fly away from the steps. Like a magician, she releases into space a lot of inflating balloons, some metal things that resemble open scissors, and objects of all sorts of other shapes. Durable balloons sparkle brightly in the cosmic sun with the mercury shine of a metallized surface. They are quite large, some shaped like warheads flying nearby. Their aluminum-coated surface reflects a radar signal from a distance in much the same way as the warhead body. Enemy ground radars will perceive these inflatable warheads as well as real ones. Of course, in the very first moments of entering the atmosphere, these balls will fall behind and immediately burst. But before that, they will distract and load the computing power of ground-based radars - both long-range detection and guidance anti-missile systems. In ballistic missile interceptor parlance, this is called “complicating the current ballistic environment.” And the entire heavenly army, inexorably moving towards the fall area, including combat units real and false, balloons, dipole and corner reflectors, this whole motley flock is called “multiple ballistic targets in a complicated ballistic environment.”

The metal scissors open up and become electric dipole reflectors - there are many of them, and they well reflect the radio signal of the long-range missile detection radar beam probing them. Instead of the ten desired fat ducks, the radar sees a huge blurry flock of small sparrows, in which it is difficult to make out anything. Devices of all shapes and sizes reflect different lengths waves

In addition to all this tinsel, the stage can theoretically itself emit radio signals that interfere with the targeting of enemy anti-missile missiles. Or distract them with yourself. In the end, you never know what she can do - after all, a whole stage is flying, large and complex, why not load it with a good solo program?

Home for "Bulava"
Project 955 Borei submarines are a series of Russian nuclear submarines of the fourth generation “strategic missile submarine cruiser” class. Initially, the project was created for the Bark missile, which was replaced by the Bulava.

Last segment

However, from an aerodynamic point of view, the stage is not a warhead. If that one is a small and heavy narrow carrot, then the stage is an empty, vast bucket, with echoing empty fuel tanks, a large, streamlined body and a lack of orientation in the flow that is beginning to flow. With its wide body and decent windage, the stage responds much earlier to the first blows of the oncoming flow. The warheads also unfold along the flow, piercing the atmosphere with the least aerodynamic resistance. The step leans into the air with its vast sides and bottoms as necessary. It cannot fight the braking force of the flow. Its ballistic coefficient - an “alloy” of massiveness and compactness - is much worse than a warhead. Immediately and strongly it begins to slow down and lag behind the warheads. But the forces of the flow increase inexorably, and at the same time the temperature heats up the thin, unprotected metal, depriving it of its strength. The remaining fuel boils merrily in the hot tanks. Finally, the hull structure loses stability under the aerodynamic load that compresses it. Overload helps to destroy the bulkheads inside. Crack! Hurry! The crumpled body is immediately engulfed by hypersonic shock waves, tearing the step into pieces and scattering them. After flying a little in the condensing air, the pieces again break into smaller fragments. Remaining fuel reacts instantly. Flying fragments of structural elements made of magnesium alloys are ignited by hot air and instantly burn with a blinding flash, similar to a camera flash - it’s not for nothing that magnesium was set on fire in the first photo flashes!

America's Underwater Sword
American submarines The Ohio class is the only type of missile carrier in service with the United States. Carries on board 24 ballistic missiles with MIRVed Trident-II (D5). The number of warheads (depending on power) is 8 or 16.

Everything is now burning with fire, everything is covered in hot plasma and the orange color of the coals from the fire shines well around. The denser parts go to decelerate forward, the lighter and sailier parts are blown into a tail stretching across the sky. All burning components produce dense smoke plumes, although at such speeds these very dense plumes cannot exist due to the monstrous dilution by the flow. But from a distance they are clearly visible. The ejected smoke particles stretch along the flight trail of this caravan of bits and pieces, filling the atmosphere with a wide white trail. Impact ionization gives rise to the nighttime greenish glow of this plume. Because of irregular shape fragments, their deceleration is rapid: everything that is not burned quickly loses speed, and with it the intoxicating effect of the air. Supersonic is the strongest brake! Having stood in the sky like a train falling apart on the tracks, and immediately cooled by the high-altitude frosty subsound, the strip of fragments becomes visually indistinguishable, loses its shape and structure and turns into a long, twenty minutes, quiet chaotic dispersion in the air. If you are in the right place, you can hear a small charred piece of duralumin clinking quietly against a birch trunk. Here you are. Goodbye breeding stage!

Sea trident
The photo shows the launch of a Trident II intercontinental missile (USA) from a submarine. Currently, Trident is the only family of ICBMs whose missiles are installed on American submarines. The maximum throwing weight is 2800 kg.

The second half of the twentieth century became the era of rocket technology. The first satellite was launched into space, then its famous “Let’s go!” said Yuri Gagarin, but the beginning of the rocket era should not be counted from these fateful moments in the history of mankind.

On June 13, 1944, Nazi Germany attacked London with V-1 missiles, which can be called the first combat cruise missile. A few months later, Londoners were bombarded with new development the Nazis - the V-2 ballistic missile, which claimed thousands of lives of civilians. After the end of the war, German rocket technology fell into the hands of the victors and began to work primarily for the war, and space exploration was just an expensive way of state PR. This was the case in both the USSR and the USA. The creation of nuclear weapons almost immediately turned missiles into strategic weapons.

It should be noted that rockets were invented by man in ancient times. There are ancient Greek descriptions of devices that closely resemble rockets. They especially loved rockets in Ancient China(II-III century BC): after the invention of gunpowder, these aircraft began to be used for fireworks and other entertainment. There is evidence of attempts to use them in military affairs, but at the existing level of technology they could hardly cause significant damage to the enemy.

In the Middle Ages, rockets came to Europe along with gunpowder. Many thinkers and natural scientists of that era were interested in these aircraft. However, the missiles were more of a curiosity; they were of little practical use.

IN early XIX century, Congreve missiles were adopted by the British Army, but due to their low accuracy they were soon supplanted by artillery systems.

Practical work on the creation missile weapons resumed in the first third of the 20th century. Enthusiasts worked in this direction in the USA, Germany, Russia (then in the USSR). In the Soviet Union, the result of this research was the birth of the BM-13 MLRS - the legendary Katyusha. In Germany, the brilliant designer Wernher von Braun was involved in the creation of ballistic missiles; it was he who developed the V-2, and later was able to send a man to the Moon.

In the 50s, work began on the creation of ballistic and cruise missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over intercontinental distances.

In this material we will talk about the most known species ballistic and cruise missiles, the review will include not only intercontinental giants, but also well-known operational and operational-tactical missile systems. Almost all the missiles on our list were developed in the design bureaus of the USSR (Russia) or the USA - two states that have the most advanced missile technologies in the world.

Scud B (P-17)

This is a Soviet ballistic missile, which is integral part operational-tactical complex "Elbrus". The R-17 missile was put into service in 1962, its flight range was 300 km, it could throw almost a ton of payload with an accuracy (CEP - circular probable deviation) of 450 meters.

This ballistic missile is one of the most famous examples of Soviet missile technology in the West. The fact is that for many decades the R-17 was actively exported to various countries world, which were considered allies of the USSR. Especially many units of these weapons were delivered to the Middle East: Egypt, Iraq, Syria.

Egypt used the P-17 against Israel during the Yom Kippur War, and Saddam Hussein fired Scud B into the territory during the first Gulf War. Saudi Arabia and Israel. He threatened to use warheads with live gases, which caused a wave of panic in Israel. One of the missiles hit an American barracks, killing 28 US troops.

Russia used the R-17 during the Second Chechen Campaign.

Currently, the P-17 is used by Yemeni rebels in the war against the Saudis.

The technologies used in the Scud B became the basis for missile programs Pakistan, North Korea, Iran.

Trident II

It is a solid-fuel three-stage ballistic missile currently in service with the US and British Navy. The Trident-2 (Trident) missile was put into service in 1990, its flight range is more than 11 thousand km, it has combat unit with individual guidance units, the power of each can be 475 kilotons. Trident II weighs 58 tons.

This ballistic missile is considered one of the most accurate in the world; it is designed to destroy missile silos with ICBMs and command posts.

Pershing II "Pershing-2"

This is an American ballistic missile medium range, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. It was one of the biggest fears of Soviet citizens at the final stage of the Cold War and a headache for Soviet strategists. The maximum flight range of the missile was 1,770 km, the CEP was 30 meters, and the power of the monoblock warhead could reach 80 Kt.

The United States stationed these in West Germany, reducing the time of approach to Soviet territory to a minimum. In 1987, the USA and the USSR signed an agreement on the destruction of medium-range nuclear missiles, after which the Pershings were removed from combat duty.

"Tochka-U"

This is a Soviet tactical system adopted for service in 1975. This missile can be equipped with a nuclear warhead with a power of 200 Kt and deliver it to a range of 120 km. Currently, "Tochki-U" are in service with the Armed Forces of Russia, Ukraine, the former republics of the USSR, as well as other countries of the world. Russia plans to replace these missile systems with more advanced Iskanders.

R-30 "Bulava"

It is a sea-launched solid-fuel ballistic missile whose development began in Russia in 1997. The R-30 should become the main weapon of submarines of projects 995 "Borey" and 941 "Akula". The maximum range of the Bulava is more than 8 thousand km (according to other sources - more than 9 thousand km), the missile can carry up to 10 individual guidance units with a power of up to 150 Kt each.

The first launch of Bulava took place in 2005, and the last one in September 2018. This rocket was developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering, which was previously involved in the creation of the Topol-M, and the Bulava is manufactured at the Votkinsky Plant Federal State Unitary Enterprise, where the Topol is produced. According to the developers, many components of these two missiles are identical, which can significantly reduce the cost of their production.

Saving public funds is, of course, a worthy desire, but it should not harm the reliability of products. Strategic nuclear weapons and their means of delivery are a core component of the concept of deterrence. Nuclear missiles must be as trouble-free and reliable as a Kalashnikov assault rifle, which cannot be said about the new Bulava missile. It flies only once in a while: out of 26 launches, 8 were considered unsuccessful, and 2 were considered partially unsuccessful. This is an unacceptable amount for a strategic missile. In addition, many experts criticize the Bulava’s throw weight for being too light.

"Topol-M"

This is a missile system with a solid fuel rocket capable of delivering a nuclear warhead with a yield of 550 Kt over a distance of 11 thousand km. Topol-M is the first intercontinental ballistic missile put into service in Russia.

The Topol-M ICBM is silo-based and mobile-based. Back in 2008, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the start of work to equip the Topol-M with multiple warheads. True, already in 2011, the military announced its refusal to further purchase this missile and a gradual transition to the R-24 Yars missile.

Minuteman III (LGM-30G)

This is an American solid-fuel ballistic missile that entered service in 1970 and is still in service today. It is believed that Minuteman III is the fastest rocket in the world; at the terminal stage of flight it can reach a speed of 24 thousand km/h.

The missile's flight range is 13 thousand km, it carries three warheads of 475 kt of power each.

Over the years of operation, the Minuteman III has undergone several dozen upgrades; Americans are constantly changing their electronics, control systems, and components power plants to more advanced ones.

As of 2008, the United States had 450 Minuteman III ICBMs, which carried 550 warheads. The fastest missile in the world will still be in service with the US Army until at least 2020.

V-2 (V-2)

This German rocket had a far from ideal design; its characteristics cannot be compared with modern analogues. However, the V-2 was the first combat ballistic missile; the Germans used it to bombard English cities. It was the V-2 that made the first suborbital flight, rising to an altitude of 188 km.

The V-2 was a single-stage liquid-fuel rocket powered by a mixture of ethanol and liquid oxygen. It could deliver a warhead weighing one ton over a distance of 320 km.

The first combat launch of the V-2 took place in September 1944; in total, more than 4,300 missiles were fired at Britain, almost half of which exploded at launch or were destroyed in flight.

The V-2 can hardly be called the best ballistic missile, but it was the first, for which it deserved a high place in our ranking.

"Iskander"

This is one of the most famous Russian missile systems. Today this name has become almost a cult in Russia. "Iskander" entered service in 2006, there are several modifications of it. There is the Iskander-M, armed with two ballistic missiles, with a range of 500 km, and the Iskander-K, a variant with two cruise missiles that can also hit the enemy at a distance of 500 km. The missiles can carry nuclear warheads with a yield of up to 50 kt.

Most of the trajectory of the Iskander ballistic missile passes at altitudes of more than 50 km, which greatly complicates its interception. In addition, the missile has hypersonic speed and actively maneuvers, which makes it a very difficult target for enemy missile defense. The angle of approach of the missile to the target is approaching 90 degrees, this greatly interferes with the operation of the enemy's radar.

Iskanders are considered one of the most advanced types of weapons available to the Russian army.

"Tomahawk"

This is an American cruise missile long range, having subsonic speed, which can perform both tactical and strategic tasks. "Tomahawk" was adopted by the US Army in 1983 and was repeatedly used in various armed conflicts. Currently, this cruise missile is in service with the navies of the United States, Great Britain and Spain.

The range of some Tomahawk modifications reaches 2.5 thousand km. Missiles can be launched from submarines and surface ships. Previously, there were modifications of the Tomahawk for the Air Force and ground forces. The CEP of the latest modifications of the rocket is 5-10 meters.

USA used these cruise missiles during both wars in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans, and Libya.

R-36M "Satan"

This is the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile ever created by man. It was developed in the USSR, at the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (Dnepropetrovsk) and put into service in 1975. The mass of this liquid-fuel rocket was more than 211 tons; it could deliver 7.3 thousand kg to a range of 16 thousand km.

Various modifications of the R-36M "Satan" could carry one warhead (power up to 20 Mt) or be equipped with a multiple warhead (10x0.75 Mt). Even modern systems Missile defense is powerless against such power. It’s not for nothing that the R-36M was dubbed “Satan” in the USA, because it really is a real weapon of Armageddon.

Today the R-36M remains in service strategic forces Russia, there are 54 RS-36M missiles on combat duty.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

The ICBM is a very impressive human creation. Huge size, thermonuclear power, column of flame, roar of engines and the menacing roar of launch. However, all this exists only on the ground and in the first minutes of launch. After they expire, the rocket ceases to exist. Further into the flight and to carry out the combat mission, only what remains of the rocket after acceleration is used - its payload.

Up close, the warhead looks like an elongated cone, a meter or one and a half long, with a base as thick as a human torso. The nose of the cone is pointed or slightly blunt. This cone is a special aircraft whose task is to deliver weapons to the target. We'll come back to warheads later and take a closer look at them.

The head of the “Peacekeeper”, The photographs show the breeding stages of the American heavy ICBM LGM0118A Peacekeeper, also known as MX. The missile was equipped with ten 300 kt multiple warheads. The missile was withdrawn from service in 2005.

Pull or push?

The breeding step has different forms. Most often, it looks like a round stump or a wide loaf of bread, on which warheads are mounted on top, points forward, each on its own spring pusher. The warheads are pre-positioned at precise separation angles (at the missile base, manually, using theodolites) and point in different directions, like a bunch of carrots, like the needles of a hedgehog. The platform, bristling with warheads, occupies a given position in flight, gyro-stabilized in space. And at the right moments, warheads are pushed out of it one by one. They are ejected immediately after completion of acceleration and separation from the last accelerating stage. Until (you never know?) they shot down this entire undiluted hive with anti-missile weapons or something on board the breeding stage failed.

But this happened before, at the dawn of multiple warheads. Now breeding presents a completely different picture. If earlier the warheads “stuck” forward, now the stage itself is in front along the course, and the warheads hang from below, with their tops back, upside down, like bats. The “bus” itself in some rockets also lies upside down, in a special recess in the upper stage of the rocket. Now, after separation, the breeding stage does not push, but drags the warheads along with it. Moreover, it drags, bracing itself with four “paws” placed crosswise, deployed in front. At the ends of these metal legs are rearward-facing thrust nozzles for the expansion stage. After separation from the accelerating stage, the “bus” very accurately, precisely sets its movement in the beginning of space with the help of its own powerful guidance system. He himself occupies the exact path of the next warhead - its individual path.

Fiery Ten, K-551 “Vladimir Monomakh” is a Russian strategic nuclear submarine (Project 955 “Borey”), armed with 16 solid-fuel Bulava ICBMs with ten multiple warheads.

Delicate movements

To avoid such effects, it is precisely the four upper “legs” with engines that are spaced apart to the sides that are needed. The stage is, as it were, pulled forward on them so that the exhaust jets go to the sides and cannot catch the warhead separated by the belly of the stage. All thrust is divided between four nozzles, which reduces the power of each individual jet. There are other features too. For example, if on the donut-shaped propulsion stage (with a void in the middle - this hole is worn on the rocket's upper stage like a wedding ring on a finger) of the Trident II D5 missile, the control system determines that the separated warhead still falls under the exhaust of one of the nozzles, then the control system turns off this nozzle. Silences the warhead.

The abysses of mathematics

Intercontinental ballistic missile R-36M Voevoda Voevoda,

What has been said above is quite enough to understand how a warhead’s own path begins. But if you open the door a little wider and look a little deeper, you will notice that today the rotation in space of the breeding stage carrying the warhead is an area of application of quaternion calculus, where the on-board attitude control system processes the measured parameters of its movement with a continuous construction on board the orientation quaternion. A quaternion is such a complex number (above the field of complex numbers lies a flat body of quaternions, as mathematicians would say in their precise language of definitions). But not with the usual two parts, real and imaginary, but with one real and three imaginary. In total, the quaternion has four parts, which, in fact, is what the Latin root quatro says.

The dilution stage does its job quite low, immediately after the boost stages are turned off. That is, at an altitude of 100−150 km. And there is also the influence of gravitational anomalies on the Earth’s surface, heterogeneities in the even gravitational field surrounding the Earth. Where are they from? From uneven terrain, mountain systems, occurrence of rocks of different densities, oceanic depressions. Gravitational anomalies either attract the stage to themselves with additional attraction, or, conversely, slightly release it from the Earth.

In such irregularities, the complex ripples of the local gravitational field, the breeding stage must place the warheads with precision accuracy. To do this, it was necessary to create a more detailed map of the Earth's gravitational field. It is better to “explain” the features of a real field in systems of differential equations that describe precise ballistic motion. These are large, capacious (to include details) systems of several thousand differential equations, with several tens of thousands of constant numbers. And the gravitational field itself at low altitudes, in the immediate near-Earth region, is considered as a joint attraction of several hundred point masses of different “weights” located near the center of the Earth in a certain order. This achieves a more accurate simulation of the Earth's real gravitational field along the rocket's flight path. And more accurate operation of the flight control system with it. And also... but that's enough! - Let's not look further and close the door; What has been said is enough for us.

Flight without warheads

The photo shows the launch of a Trident II intercontinental missile (USA) from a submarine. Currently, Trident is the only family of ICBMs whose missiles are installed on American submarines. The maximum throwing weight is 2800 kg.

Short, but intense.

The ICBM payload spends most of its flight in space object mode, rising to an altitude three times the height of the ISS. The trajectory of enormous length must be calculated with extreme accuracy.

After the separated warheads, it is the turn of other wards. The most amusing things begin to fly away from the steps. Like a magician, she releases into space a lot of inflating balloons, some metal things that resemble open scissors, and objects of all sorts of other shapes. Durable balloons sparkle brightly in the cosmic sun with the mercury shine of a metallized surface. They are quite large, some shaped like warheads flying nearby. Their aluminum-coated surface reflects a radar signal from a distance in much the same way as the warhead body. Enemy ground radars will perceive these inflatable warheads as well as real ones. Of course, in the very first moments of entering the atmosphere, these balls will fall behind and immediately burst. But before that, they will distract and load the computing power of ground-based radars - both long-range detection and guidance of anti-missile systems. In ballistic missile interceptor parlance, this is called “complicating the current ballistic environment.” And the entire heavenly army, inexorably moving towards the area of impact, including real and false warheads, balloons, dipole and corner reflectors, this whole motley flock is called “multiple ballistic targets in a complicated ballistic environment.”

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America's underwater sword, the Ohio-class submarines are the only class of missile-carrying submarines in service with the United States. Carries on board 24 ballistic missiles with MIRVed Trident-II (D5). The number of warheads (depending on power) is 8 or 16.

However, from an aerodynamic point of view, the stage is not a warhead. If that one is a small and heavy narrow carrot, then the stage is an empty, vast bucket, with echoing empty fuel tanks, a large, streamlined body and a lack of orientation in the flow that is beginning to flow. With its wide body and decent windage, the stage responds much earlier to the first blows of the oncoming flow. The warheads also unfold along the flow, piercing the atmosphere with the least aerodynamic resistance. The step leans into the air with its vast sides and bottoms as necessary. It cannot fight the braking force of the flow. Its ballistic coefficient - an “alloy” of massiveness and compactness - is much worse than a warhead. Immediately and strongly it begins to slow down and lag behind the warheads. But the forces of the flow increase inexorably, and at the same time the temperature heats up the thin, unprotected metal, depriving it of its strength. The remaining fuel boils merrily in the hot tanks. Finally, the hull structure loses stability under the aerodynamic load that compresses it. Overload helps to destroy the bulkheads inside. Crack! Hurry! The crumpled body is immediately engulfed by hypersonic shock waves, tearing the stage into pieces and scattering them. After flying a little in the condensing air, the pieces again break into smaller fragments. Remaining fuel reacts instantly. Flying fragments of structural elements made of magnesium alloys are ignited by hot air and instantly burn with a blinding flash, similar to a camera flash - it’s not for nothing that magnesium was set on fire in the first photo flashes!

Time does not stand still.

Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing completed the first and key stage, associated with the development of a defense exoatmospheric kinetic interceptor (Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, EKV), which is part of a mega-project - a global one being developed by the Pentagon missile defense, based on anti-missiles, each of which is capable of carrying SEVERAL kinetic interception warheads (Multiple Kill Vehicle, MKV) to destroy ICBMs with multiple warheads, as well as “false” warheads

"The milestone is an important part of the concept development phase," Raytheon said, adding that it is "consistent with MDA plans and is the basis for further concept approval planned for December."

It is noted that Raytheon in this project uses the experience of creating EKV, which is involved in the American global missile defense system that has been operating since 2005 - the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD), which is designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles and their combat units in outer space outside the Earth's atmosphere. Currently, 30 interceptor missiles are deployed in Alaska and California to protect the continental United States, and another 15 missiles are planned to be deployed by 2017.

The transatmospheric kinetic interceptor, which will become the basis for the currently being created MKV, is the main destructive element of the GBMD complex. A 64-kilogram projectile is launched by an anti-missile missile into outer space, where it intercepts and contact destroys an enemy warhead thanks to an electro-optical guidance system, protected from extraneous light by a special casing and automatic filters. The interceptor receives target designation from ground-based radars, establishes sensory contact with the warhead and aims at it, maneuvering in outer space using rocket engines. The warhead is hit by a frontal ram on a collision course with a combined speed of 17 km/s: the interceptor flies at a speed of 10 km/s, the ICBM warhead at a speed of 5-7 km/s. The kinetic energy of the impact, amounting to about 1 ton of TNT equivalent, is enough to completely destroy a warhead of any conceivable design, and in such a way that the warhead is completely destroyed.

In 2009, the United States suspended the development of a program to combat multiple warheads due to the extreme complexity of producing the breeding unit mechanism. However, this year the program was revived. According to Newsader analytical data, this is due to increased aggression on the part of Russia and corresponding threats to use nuclear weapons, which were repeatedly expressed by senior officials of the Russian Federation, including President Vladimir Putin himself, who, in a commentary on the situation with the annexation of Crimea, openly admitted that he allegedly was ready to use nuclear weapons in a possible conflict with NATO ( latest events related to the destruction of a Russian bomber by the Turkish Air Force, cast doubt on Putin’s sincerity and suggest a “nuclear bluff” on his part). Meanwhile, as is known, it is Russia that is the only state in the world that allegedly possesses ballistic missiles with multiple nuclear warheads, including “false” (distracting) ones.

Raytheon said that their brainchild will be capable of destroying several objects at once using an advanced sensor and other latest technologies. According to the company, during the time that passed between the implementation of the Standard Missile-3 and EKV projects, the developers managed to achieve a record performance in intercepting training targets in space - more than 30, which exceeds the performance of competitors.

Russia is also not standing still.

According to the message open sources, this year the first launch of the new RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will take place, which should replace the previous generation of RS-20A missiles, known according to NATO classification as “Satan”, but in our country as “Voevoda”.

The RS-20A ballistic missile (ICBM) development program was implemented as part of the “guaranteed retaliatory strike” strategy. President Ronald Reagan's policy of exacerbating the confrontation between the USSR and the USA forced him to take adequate response measures to cool the ardor of the "hawks" from the presidential administration and the Pentagon. American strategists believed that they were quite capable of ensuring such a level of protection for their country’s territory from an attack by Soviet ICBMs that they could simply not give a damn about the international agreements reached and continue to improve their own nuclear potential and missile defense systems (ABM). “Voevoda” was just another “asymmetric response” to Washington’s actions.

The most unpleasant surprise for the Americans was the rocket's fissile warhead, which contained 10 elements, each of which carried an atomic charge with a capacity of up to 750 kilotons of TNT. For example, bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a yield of “only” 18-20 kilotons. Such warheads were capable of penetrating the then-American missile defense systems; in addition, the infrastructure supporting missile launching was also improved.

The development of a new ICBM is intended to solve several problems at once: first, to replace the Voyevoda, whose capabilities to overcome modern American missile defense (BMD) have decreased; secondly, to solve the problem of dependence of domestic industry on Ukrainian enterprises, since the complex was developed in Dnepropetrovsk; finally, give an adequate response to the continuation of the missile defense deployment program in Europe and the Aegis system.

According to The Expectations National Interest, the Sarmat missile will weigh at least 100 tons, and the mass of its warhead can reach 10 tons. This means, the publication continues, that the rocket will be able to carry up to 15 multiple thermonuclear warheads.
“The Sarmat’s range will be at least 9,500 kilometers. When it is put into service, it will be the largest missile in world history,” the article notes.

According to reports in the press, NPO Energomash will become the head enterprise for the production of the rocket, and the engines will be supplied by Perm-based Proton-PM.

The main difference between Sarmat and Voevoda is the ability to launch warheads into a circular orbit, which sharply reduces range restrictions; with this launch method, you can attack enemy territory not along the shortest trajectory, but along any and from any direction - not only through North Pole, but also through Yuzhny.

In addition, the designers promise that the idea of maneuvering warheads will be implemented, which will make it possible to counter all types of existing anti-missile missiles and promising systems using laser weapons. Anti-aircraft missiles"Patriot", which form the basis of the American missile defense system, cannot yet effectively combat actively maneuvering targets flying at speeds close to hypersonic.
Maneuvering warheads promise to become so effective weapon, against which there are currently no countermeasures equal in reliability, that the option of creating international agreement prohibiting or significantly limiting this type weapons.

Thus, together with sea-based and mobile missiles railway complexes"Sarmat" will become an additional and quite effective deterrent factor.

If this happens, efforts to deploy missile defense systems in Europe may be in vain, since the missile's launch trajectory is such that it is unclear where exactly the warheads will be aimed.

It is also reported that missile silos will be equipped with additional protection against close explosions of nuclear weapons, which will significantly increase the reliability of the entire system.

First prototypes new rocket have already been built. The start of launch tests is scheduled for this year. If the tests are successful, serial production of Sarmat missiles will begin, and they will enter service in 2018.

The ICBM is the ultimate weapon. And this is not an exaggeration. An ICBM is capable of delivering its cargo to any point on the planet and, having reached its target with incredible accuracy, destroying almost anything. So, where does horror fly on the wings of a ballistic missile?

Let us consider, as a basic example, the most “open” and simplest modern ICBM - Minuteman-III (US Department of Defense index LGM-30G). The veteran of the American strategic triad is soon fifty (the first launch was in August 1968, and he was put on duty in 1970). It so happened that on at the moment 400 of these “militia” are the only land-based ICBMs in the American arsenal.
When on command post When an order is received, a modern silo-based ICBM will be launched within two to three minutes, with most of this time spent verifying the command and removing numerous “fuses.” High speed launch is an important advantage of silo missiles. Unpaved missile complex or the train needs a few more minutes to stop, deploy the supports, raise the rocket, and only after that the launch will occur. What can we say about a submarine, which (if it was not at the minimum depth in full readiness in advance) will start launching missiles in about 15 minutes.
Then the lid of the shaft will open, and a rocket will “pop out” of it. Modern domestic systems use the so-called mortar or “cold” start, when the rocket is thrown into the air with a separate small charge and only then starts its engines.
Then the most crucial time comes for the ICBM - it is necessary to pass the atmospheric section over the deployment area as quickly as possible. It is there that intense heat and wind gusts of up to several kilometers per second await it, so the active phase of the ICBM’s flight lasts only a few minutes.
In Minuteman III, the first stage operates for exactly one minute. During this time, the rocket rises to a height of 30 kilometers, moving not vertically, but at an angle to the ground. The second stage, also in a minute of operation, throws the rocket 70-90 kilometers - here everything greatly depends on the distance to the target. Since it is no longer possible to turn off the solid fuel engine, we have to adjust the range by the steepness of the trajectory: if we need further, we fly higher. When launching at a minimum distance, you don’t have to launch the third stage at all, and immediately start scattering gifts. In our case (in the video below), it worked, ending the three-minute work of the rocket itself.

By that time, the payload is already in space and moving almost at escape velocity - the longest-range ICBMs accelerate to 7 km/s, or even faster. It is not surprising that with minimal modifications, heavy ICBMs, such as the domestic R-36M/M2 or the American LGM-118 Peacekeeper, were successfully used as light launch vehicles.

Then the fun begins. The so-called “bus” comes into play - the platform/stage for breeding warheads. He drops the combat blocks one by one, directing them to the right path. This is a real technical miracle - the “bus” does everything so smoothly that small cones without control systems, flying over seas and continents for half globe, fit within a radius of just a few hundred meters! Such accuracy is ensured by an ultra-precise and insanely expensive inertial navigation system. You cannot rely on satellite systems, although how aid They are also used. And at this stage there are no longer any self-destruct signals - the risk is too great that the enemy will be able to imitate them.

Together with combat units, the “bus” also bombards enemy missile defense systems with false targets. Since the platform's capabilities are limited both in time and in fuel supply, blocks from one missile can hit targets only in one region. According to rumors, ours recently tested a new modification of Yars with several “buses” at once, individual for each block - and this already removes the restriction.

The block is hiding among many decoys, its place is in order of battle unknown and selected randomly by the rocket. The number of false targets can exceed a hundred. In addition, a whole scattering of means of creating radar interference is scattered - both passive (the notorious clouds of cut foil) and active, creating additional “noise” for enemy radars. It is interesting that the means created back in the 1970s and 80s can still easily overcome missile defense.

Well, then, after a relatively quiet phase of travel, the warhead enters the atmosphere and rushes towards the target. The entire flight takes about half an hour at intercontinental range. Depending on the type of target, a detonation is possible either at a given height (optimal for hitting a city) or on the surface. Some warheads with sufficient strength can even hit underground targets, while others, before entering the atmosphere, are able to assess their deviation from the ideal trajectory and adjust the detonation altitude. The units in service do not maneuver independently, but their appearance is a matter of the near future.

The more carefully you look at an ICBM, the more clearly you understand that in terms of technical excellence and complexity it is not inferior to “real” space launch vehicles. And this is not surprising - after all, you cannot trust just anyone with the ultra-fast delivery of a small star that lives only for an instant.

Alexander Ermakov

russlandia_007, This means that the Russian Federation has no plans to attack, and all this anti-Russian propaganda in the West is zilch!

"American ground-based ICBMs are stuck in the 1970s

The United States has only one type of ground-based ICBM in service - the LGM-30G Minuteman-3. Each missile carries one W87 warhead with a yield of up to 300 kilotons (but can carry up to three warheads).
The last rocket of this type was manufactured in 1978. This means that the “youngest” of them is 38 years old. These missiles have been modernized several times, and their service life is scheduled to end in 2030.

A new ICBM system called GBSD (Ground Based Strategic Deterrent) appears to be stuck in the discussion stage. The US Air Force has requested $62.3 billion for the development and production of new missiles, and hopes to receive $113.9 million in 2017.
However White House does not support this application. In fact, many there are against this idea. Development was delayed by a year, and GBSD's prospects will now depend on the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

It is worth noting that the American government intends to spend a colossal amount on nuclear weapons: about 348 billion dollars by 2024, with 26 billion going to ICBMs. But for GBSD, 26 billion is not enough. Actual costs may be higher given the fact that the United States has not produced new ones for a long time. intercontinental missiles ground-based.
The last such missile, called the LGM-118A Peacekeeper, was deployed in 1986. But by 2005, the United States unilaterally removed all 50 missiles of this type from combat duty, although it would not be an exaggeration to say that the LGM-118A Peacekeeper was better in comparison with the LGM-30G Minuteman-3, since it could carry up to 10 warheads.
Despite the failure of the START II Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which prohibited the use of individually targetable MIRVs, the United States voluntarily abandoned its MIRVs.
Confidence in them was lost due to the high cost, as well as due to a scandal in which it was revealed that these missiles did not have an AIRS (Advanced Inertial Support Sphere) GUIDANCE SYSTEM for almost four years (1984-88). In addition, the missile manufacturing company tried to hide the delivery delay - at a time when cold war was coming to an end.

Russia also has a mysterious RS-26 Rubezh missile.
There is little information about it, but most likely this complex is further development of the Yars project, having the ability to strike at intercontinental and medium ranges.
The minimum launch range of this missile is 2,000 kilometers, and this is enough for a breakthrough American systems Missile defense in Europe. The United States opposes the deployment of the system on the grounds that it would be a violation of the INF Treaty. But such claims do not stand up to scrutiny: the maximum launch range of the RS-26 exceeds 6,000 kilometers, which means that it is an intercontinental ballistic missile, but not an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

With this in mind, it is clear that the United States is significantly behind Russia in developing land-based ICBMs.
The United States has one, rather old, intercontinental ballistic missile, the Minuteman III, capable of carrying only one warhead.

And the prospects for developing a new model to replace it are very uncertain. In Russia the situation is completely different. Ground-based ICBMs are updated regularly - in fact, the process of developing new missiles continues non-stop.
Each new ICBM is developed taking into account a breakthrough of the enemy’s missile defense system, due to which the European missile defense project and the ground-based in-flight missile defense system (the US missile defense system designed to intercept incoming combat units) will be ineffective against Russian missiles in the foreseeable future.”
April 28, 2016, Military Review,