R-39

R-39
Name	R-39
Origin	Soviet Union
Type	Ballistic missile
Service	1983–1998
Used by	Soviet Navy; Russian Navy
Designer	Makeyev State Rocket Design Bureau
Manufacturer	Makeyev State Rocket Design Bureau
Weight	100000 kg (approx.)
Length	16.0 m (approx.)
Diameter	2.4 m (approx.)
Speed	Mach 20+ (boost)
Range	~8000–9300 km
Warhead	Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV)
Guidance	Inertial guidance; astrocorrection
Launch platform	Typhoon-class submarine; Delta-class submarine

R-39 is a Soviet submarine-launched ballistic missile developed during the Cold War for strategic nuclear deterrence deployed on heavy ballistic missile submarines. Conceived amid competition between design bureaus and shifting naval doctrines, it became a principal armament of the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet before phased retirement after the Soviet collapse and post‑Cold War reforms. The system influenced subsequent Strategic Rocket Forces and naval missile developments, and figured in arms-control dialogues such as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiations.

Design and development

The project originated in the 1970s within Makeyev State Rocket Design Bureau under direction from the Soviet Navy and the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. Engineers balanced competing requirements set by Nikita Khrushchev-era submarine strategy and later directives from Leonid Brezhnev and military planners in Moscow and Leningrad. Drawing on propulsion advances from programs tied to the R-27 and tactical systems evaluated by TsNII Tochmash, developers opted for a large, three-stage solid-fuel design to fit the displacement and pressure-hull dimensions of new ballistic missile submarines such as the Typhoon-class submarine. Testing and trials involved launches from the White Sea and test ranges near Plesetsk Cosmodrome under oversight by naval commanders linked to the Northern Fleet and scientists from Keldysh Research Center.

Program milestones included bench testing of solid-propellant motors influenced by work at NPO Energomash and guidance refinements guided by inertial systems researched at Tupolev-affiliated institutes. Political support waxed and waned with leadership changes, with periodic review by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and technical input from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Safety and recovery trials referenced protocols used in the R-29 family, while production at facilities coordinated with Sevmash and other shipbuilding yards enabled integration into ballistic missile submarines.

Specifications

The missile featured a three-stage solid-propellant architecture with approximate length near 16.0 m and diameter near 2.4 m, optimized for submerged launch from large pressure hulls on Typhoon-class submarine tubes. Propulsion performance achieved high boost velocities drawing on solid propellant technologies developed contemporaneously with Topol and SS-18 Satan era programs. Guidance combined inertial navigation with astrocorrection routines tested against celestial sensors developed by institutes linked to Baikonur Cosmodrome research. Payload capabilities included multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles with yields comparable to warheads fielded on SSBN platforms of the era, intended to reach ranges on the order of 8,000–9,300 km to cover strategic targets including sites in United States, Canada, and allies.

Operational parameters required submarine crews trained under doctrines inherited from exercises such as those planned by Admiral Sergey Gorshkov and later operational orders influenced by commanders of the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet. Maintenance cycles and handling procedures echoed standards promulgated by Sovmin directives and technical circulars from the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry.

Operational history

Deployments began in the early 1980s aboard Typhoon-class submarine units commissioned from Sevmash and assigned to patrols in the Barents Sea and Arctic approaches. These patrols formed part of strategic deterrent rotations analogous to missions run by United States Navy SSBN fleets in the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The missile force became a bargaining element during Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty discussions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when representatives from United States Department of Defense and Soviet negotiators assessed force postures.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, economic strains and treaty obligations overseen by successor bodies such as the Russian Federation leadership and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation led to progressive decommissioning. By the late 1990s, most launchers and missiles were retired, with dismantling supervised by shipyards and demilitarization teams working alongside officials from Rosatom and naval logistics authorities.

Variants

Design evolution included planned and limited-production variants addressing payload configurations, range adjustments, and guidance upgrades. Some experimental versions proposed different warhead counts and penetration aids similar to concepts explored in the R-29 family and continental systems like SS-20. Adaptations for alternate submarine classes were studied in design offices that had previously collaborated on projects tied to Project 941 and proposals for future SSBN modernization programs debated within the General Staff of the Armed Forces.

Operators

- Soviet Navy (former) - Russian Navy (former)

Deployments were limited to large ballistic missile submarine crews based at bases associated with the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet.

Incidents and accidents

Operational history included technical anomalies and at least one widely reported retrieval and investigation operation involving missile stages and test articles recovered after failed flights near ranges used by Plesetsk Cosmodrome and Arctic testing zones. Accidents prompted safety reviews by technical committees convened by the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union and later by Russian Federation authorities, drawing on expertise from institutes such as the Kurchatov Institute and the State Commission on Military-Industrial Complex.

Legacy and impact

The missile influenced subsequent strategic planning, engineering practice at Makeyev State Rocket Design Bureau, and arms-control dialogues with entities like the United States Department of State and NATO committees. Technologies developed for the system informed later programs in Russian Aerospace Forces and civilian rocketry projects linked to institutes that also supported the Soyuz and Proton lines. Its retirement symbolized broader shifts in post‑Cold War deterrence posture, naval procurement overseen by Sevmash, and treaty-driven force reductions monitored by international observers from Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe-era frameworks.

Category:Ballistic missiles Category:Submarine-launched ballistic missiles Category:Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union