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| RS-20V | |
|---|---|
| Name | RS-20V |
| Type | Intercontinental ballistic missile |
| Origin | Soviet Union |
| Service | 1980s–present |
| Manufacturer | NPO Mashinostroyeniya |
| Weight | ~105000 kg |
| Length | ~35.3 m |
| Diameter | ~3 m |
| Range | ~10000–11000 km |
| Warhead | Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles |
| Guidance | Inertial with astrocorrection |
| Launch platform | Silo-based |
RS-20V is a Russian strategic missile system developed during the late Cold War era as part of a modernization program for Soviet nuclear forces. It entered service in the 1980s and became a central element of contingency plans tied to arms control arrangements such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The system has been associated with deployments overseen by formations like the Strategic Rocket Forces and periodically mentioned in discussions involving the Ministry of Defence (Russia) and NATO planning staffs.
The design and development process involved bureaus and institutes including NPO Mashinostroyeniya, KBM, and design offices linked to the Soviet Union era research complex, interacting with testing ranges such as Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Conceptual work was influenced by earlier systems like the R-36 family and lessons from programs managed by figures connected to Mikhail Gorbachev era defense reformers and directors at enterprises tied to Dmitry Ustinov's legacy. Prototypes were trialed under test regimes involving the Ministry of Defence (Soviet Union), with instrumentation and telemetry support from establishments related to TsNII Kometa and collaboration with academic partners at institutions such as the Moscow Aviation Institute and M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Technical aspects drew on solid-propellant and liquid-propellant heritage visible in the evolution from designs associated with Sergei Korolev's early programs and later work at Yuzhnoye Design Office. The missile architecture incorporated multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles conceptually related to ideas tested in programs referenced by START I negotiators and evaluated by analysts at RAND Corporation, International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Guidance combined inertial systems with celestial navigation techniques developed in cooperation with laboratories linked to Lebedev Physical Institute and applications tested against standards used by units of the Strategic Rocket Forces and NATO assessment teams from Allied Command Transformation.
Operational history includes deployment cycles during the presidencies of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, and Mikhail Gorbachev with later service into the administrations of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin. Forces equipped units stationed at garrisons historically associated with the Orenburg Oblast and regions near Krasnoyarsk Krai underwent modernization programs monitored by committees of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and later by the State Duma. Exercises and readiness drills featured in planning documents alongside NATO exercises such as Able Archer analyses and were assessed in publications by commentators at The Jamestown Foundation and research by the Brookings Institution.
Variants emerged from design bureaus in response to operational requirements similar to evolutions seen in families linked to Topol and Yars programs, with modifications overseen by companies like Tula KBP and satellite navigation input from agencies comparable to Roscosmos. Some variant designations were reported in analyses by institutions such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, while deployment profiles were tracked by open-source monitors including Federation of American Scientists and investigative teams connected to Jane's Information Group.
Export and international use were constrained by treaties involving parties such as the United States and NATO, and diplomatic negotiations often referenced delegations from countries like Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan during post-Soviet asset settlements. Discussions on proliferation and control were part of dialogues featuring actors such as the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and bilateral commissions involving the Russian Federation and the United States Department of State. Analyses of potential transfers were reported by think tanks including Chatham House and media outlets such as The New York Times and BBC News.
Strategically, the missile served as a deterrent element integrated into doctrines debated by officials from NATO headquarters and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, influencing posture reviews conducted under leaders like Harry S. Truman's successors and modern chiefs analogous to those in the Pentagon. Tactically, planners compared survivability and targeting options with systems fielded by states represented in analyses by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and scenarios modeled by academics at Harvard Kennedy School and Georgetown University, while arms control specialists at Stanford University and Princeton University assessed its impact on escalation dynamics.
Category:Intercontinental ballistic missiles Category:Cold War military equipment Category:Russian strategic weapons