The Avangard project on the way to combat duty
One of the main innovations for the Russian strategic missile forces is the promising Avangard complex, which includes a unique hypersonic guided combat unit. The newest complex has already passed all the main checks, and in the near future should go into service. Then begin the deployment of new systems in parts of the Strategic Missile Forces. Not so long ago it became known how exactly the complexes would look like on duty and when they would be able to contribute to the country's defense capability.
The soon adoption of the Avangard complex was officially announced in early June. Then, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the promising product will take over on duty in the next 2019 year. Recently, new information has appeared, according to which the order of acceptance for service may appear a little earlier, including before the end of the current year.
2 regiment and 12 missiles
October 29 TASS news agency has published new information about the planned deployment of promising complexes and events prior to its beginning. An unnamed source in the military-industrial complex also provided information about the carrier of new combat equipment and the need to conduct its checks before starting a new phase of service.
According to the source, the first Avangard products will be deployed as combat equipment of intercontinental ballistic missiles of a heavy class UR-100N UTTH. The latter have long been in service, and now it is proposed to use them as carriers of promising warheads. In accordance with existing standards, before the new stage of the service of missiles it is necessary to conduct a test launch. However, as the source noted, its implementation may be waived. The Avangard combat unit passed the necessary tests, and the UR-100N UTTH rocket proved itself as a reliable and proven system. In this regard, it is possible that the military will do without a control launch.
In accordance with the results of such tests - if they take place - a final decision will be taken on the adoption of the Avant-garde. An official document on this subject should appear at the end of 2018 or at the beginning of 2019. It should be recalled that in the middle of the year other terms were indicated - a little later.
According to TASS, the launch of new complexes on duty will start next year. The source indicated that the end of 2019 of the year had been appointed as the due date for the start of the first Avant-garde regiment duty. In this case, initially on duty there will be only two complexes of a new type. Later, their number will increase to normal. Total regiment will operate six missile systems.
It is reported that the current State Armaments Program, which is in force until 2027, provides for the re-equipment of two regiments from the composition of the strategic missile forces. Each of them will keep on duty on six "Vanguards". To solve this problem, the 12 of intercontinental missiles UR-100НТТХ will be sent to the restructuring and modernization. Each of them will receive a new hypersonic combat unit, after which it will return to the unit for placement in the silo launcher.
According to a TASS source, both regiments will be part of a missile division stationed in the Orenburg region. Apparently, we are talking about the 13 th missile Orenburg Red Banner Division from the 31 th missile army of the Strategic Missile Forces.
It is not excluded that in the future, new regiments equipped with Avangard complexes will appear in the rocket forces. Decisions on their formation will be made in the future, in accordance with the current situation and current threats. So far, the command plans to limit itself to only two regiments with 12 complexes on duty.
Year News
The latest news from an anonymous TASS source is of great interest. They reveal some details of the planned work, and in addition, seriously supplement the existing data. It should be recalled that until recently, very little was known about the Avangard project, and most of the information came from unofficial sources. This year, the situation has changed dramatically, and the promising complex has become one of the most discussed topics.
This year's first official announcement of a new weapons sounded on March 1 as part of the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. Then V. Putin spoke about the existence of a promising missile system equipped with a hypersonic maneuvering warhead. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, specified that the Avangard complex had already completed all the necessary tests. This statement was a kind of confirmation of previous unofficial reports and rumors about conducting inspections of hypersonic weapons.
12 March, the new information on the Avangard project progress was revealed by Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov. He noted that the creation of new weapons was not easy, but the industry coped with the tasks. In particular, scientists and designers had to solve the problems of heating and controlling the device in flight. Successful tests confirmed the correctness of the approaches and solutions used. In addition, the deputy minister said that the military department signed a contract for the mass production of promising products.
7 June, during the "Direct Line", the President of Russia revealed new details of the ongoing work. According to him, the adoption of "Avant-garde" in service was planned for the next 2019 year.
On July 19, the Ministry of Defense recalled recent events and activities, and also provided answers to current questions. The official statement stated that the industry launched the process of mass production of Avangard products and will soon be able to transfer finished samples to the rocket forces. In addition, the Strategic Missile Forces have begun preparations for the future acceptance of new weapons. The complex of organizational and technical measures for the adoption of new weapons into operation was carried out at the facilities of the position area of the Dombarovsky unit of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In July, it was reported that experts conducted a geodesic and engineering training of the position area necessary for the deployment of new weapons. The construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of existing ones continued. The training of personnel, weapons and various equipment was also organized.
Also in mid-summer, the Ministry of Defense showed a video from tests of the missile complex. The published video showed preparations for the launch and the start of the flight of the rocket. In addition, he showed that the UR-100H UTTH rocket was used as the Avangard carrier during the tests.
According to recent Russian media reports, preparations for the deployment of Avangard missile systems are proceeding on schedule, or with some advance. Adoption can be expected not in 2019 year, as mentioned earlier, but at the end of 2018. Almost all of the next year will be spent on training a pair of silo launchers for the 13 th missile division and upgrading the UR-100N UTTH missiles for a new stage of operation.
Thus, in accordance with the well-known plans of the command, by the beginning of 2020 of the year, at least two Avangard complexes will be on duty in strategic rocket forces. Over the next few years, their number will increase by six times due to the equipping of the first regiment and the organization of the second. Plans for further periods remain unknown and, perhaps, have not yet been defined.
Carriers of the complex
According to the available data, the intercontinental ballistic missile UR-100N UTTH will become the carrier of the promising hypersonic Avangard combat unit. In standard equipment, this product has a starting mass of more than 105 tons and delivers 6 individual targeting warheads to a range of up to 10 thousand km. It is not known how the main combat characteristics and quality of the rocket should change after the replacement of regular combat units with Avangard. There is every reason to believe that the range of delivery of the warhead will increase significantly.
Unlike standard warheads falling on a target along a ballistic trajectory, the Avant-garde product is capable of planning a flight with control on the trajectory. Obviously, such a flight method in combination with hypersonic speed after separation from the carrier will allow the combat unit to independently travel considerable distances, and along an unpredictable route. It can be assumed that the Avangard will increase the range of existing missiles by several thousand kilometers.
Use as a carrier of the UR-100N UTTH rocket has a number of specific consequences. First of all, it is necessary to take into account that this ICBM is very old, and in the foreseeable future, the Strategic Missile Forces are going to abandon it because of moral and physical obsolescence. Thus, it may turn out that the planned 12 complexes of the UR-100H UTTH and Avant-garde complexes on duty will be the first and the last of its kind. In the future, the hypersonic weapon will need a new carrier.
For several years, the assumption of the possibility of installing the Avant-garde on a promising intercontinental RS-28 Sarmat rocket has been discussed. 1 March 2018 of the Year V.Putin indicated that the Sarmat ICBM can carry different combat equipment options, including hypersonic units. It was about the Avangard product, announced by the president a bit later. Any information about the future deployment of hypersonic weapons on the "Sarmats" is not yet available.
According to the Russian press, published a few days ago, mass production of the ICBR RS-28 starts in the 2021 year. At the same time, the first missiles of a new type are planned to be transferred to parts of the Strategic Missile Forces for loading into mine launchers for the purpose of organizing combat duty. In 2021, only two missiles as part of one of the regiments will take over duty. Later, the unit will bring the number of missiles on duty to the standard number of six units. Then will begin the rearmament of other parts and compounds of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In the recent past, in the context of the Avangard project, another model of advanced weapons with the code Bound was mentioned and discussed. It was a ballistic missile RS-26. According to the available data, it was an improved analogue of the PC-24 serial product “Yars” and in the future was supposed to complement it. Due to the lack of accurate data and some confusion with designations, the Boundary project was often identified with Avangard. Later, a version appeared about the possibility of installing a hypersonic warhead on a PC-26 rocket.
From the available data it follows that the system in the form of the PC-26 and Avangard would be a mobile ground-based missile system with an intercontinental firing range and special combat qualities achieved by the new combat equipment. However, the implementation of such a concept was abandoned. At the end of March of this year, it became known that the PC-26 project is not included in the new State Arms Program. Instead, the command plans to develop the Avangard complex in the mine version. Thus, the hypersonic aircraft lost one of the potential carriers.
Any data or even rumors about the possibility of creating new versions of the Avangard complex based on one or another carrier are not yet available. According to the available information, first the complex with the UR-100N UTTH rocket will go into service. Until 2027, the strategic missile forces will have two regiments with such systems on duty. It is also possible the emergence of a certain number of "Sarmats" with products "Avangard". Whether the latter will be used with other rockets is unknown.
Weapons of the future
Officials and unnamed press sources this year helped to form a fairly detailed picture of the situation around the avant-garde hypersonic combat unit and related systems. In particular, thanks to them, plans to deploy such weapons became known. This process starts next year and will continue for several years. The Strategic Missile Forces will not put on duty the largest number of new missiles, but their numbers will apparently meet current requirements. In the future, there may be a new decision on the addition of the Avangard group in one form or another.
It is expected that the special combat equipment of the new missile system will make it possible to drastically increase the speed and effectiveness of rocket attacks on targets of a potential enemy. At the same time, the growth of combat qualities, among other things, will be ensured by the impossibility of intercepting Avangard with existing anti-missile defenses. Thus, in the near future, our country will have a real weapon of the future, capable of responding to all current and future challenges.
On the materials of the sites:
http://tass.ru/
http://kremlin.ru/
http://mil.ru/
http://ria.ru/
http://tass.ru/
http://vpk.name/
The soon adoption of the Avangard complex was officially announced in early June. Then, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the promising product will take over on duty in the next 2019 year. Recently, new information has appeared, according to which the order of acceptance for service may appear a little earlier, including before the end of the current year.
2 regiment and 12 missiles
October 29 TASS news agency has published new information about the planned deployment of promising complexes and events prior to its beginning. An unnamed source in the military-industrial complex also provided information about the carrier of new combat equipment and the need to conduct its checks before starting a new phase of service.
According to the source, the first Avangard products will be deployed as combat equipment of intercontinental ballistic missiles of a heavy class UR-100N UTTH. The latter have long been in service, and now it is proposed to use them as carriers of promising warheads. In accordance with existing standards, before the new stage of the service of missiles it is necessary to conduct a test launch. However, as the source noted, its implementation may be waived. The Avangard combat unit passed the necessary tests, and the UR-100N UTTH rocket proved itself as a reliable and proven system. In this regard, it is possible that the military will do without a control launch.
In accordance with the results of such tests - if they take place - a final decision will be taken on the adoption of the Avant-garde. An official document on this subject should appear at the end of 2018 or at the beginning of 2019. It should be recalled that in the middle of the year other terms were indicated - a little later.
According to TASS, the launch of new complexes on duty will start next year. The source indicated that the end of 2019 of the year had been appointed as the due date for the start of the first Avant-garde regiment duty. In this case, initially on duty there will be only two complexes of a new type. Later, their number will increase to normal. Total regiment will operate six missile systems.
It is reported that the current State Armaments Program, which is in force until 2027, provides for the re-equipment of two regiments from the composition of the strategic missile forces. Each of them will keep on duty on six "Vanguards". To solve this problem, the 12 of intercontinental missiles UR-100НТТХ will be sent to the restructuring and modernization. Each of them will receive a new hypersonic combat unit, after which it will return to the unit for placement in the silo launcher.
According to a TASS source, both regiments will be part of a missile division stationed in the Orenburg region. Apparently, we are talking about the 13 th missile Orenburg Red Banner Division from the 31 th missile army of the Strategic Missile Forces.
It is not excluded that in the future, new regiments equipped with Avangard complexes will appear in the rocket forces. Decisions on their formation will be made in the future, in accordance with the current situation and current threats. So far, the command plans to limit itself to only two regiments with 12 complexes on duty.
Year News
The latest news from an anonymous TASS source is of great interest. They reveal some details of the planned work, and in addition, seriously supplement the existing data. It should be recalled that until recently, very little was known about the Avangard project, and most of the information came from unofficial sources. This year, the situation has changed dramatically, and the promising complex has become one of the most discussed topics.
This year's first official announcement of a new weapons sounded on March 1 as part of the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. Then V. Putin spoke about the existence of a promising missile system equipped with a hypersonic maneuvering warhead. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev, specified that the Avangard complex had already completed all the necessary tests. This statement was a kind of confirmation of previous unofficial reports and rumors about conducting inspections of hypersonic weapons.
12 March, the new information on the Avangard project progress was revealed by Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov. He noted that the creation of new weapons was not easy, but the industry coped with the tasks. In particular, scientists and designers had to solve the problems of heating and controlling the device in flight. Successful tests confirmed the correctness of the approaches and solutions used. In addition, the deputy minister said that the military department signed a contract for the mass production of promising products.
7 June, during the "Direct Line", the President of Russia revealed new details of the ongoing work. According to him, the adoption of "Avant-garde" in service was planned for the next 2019 year.
On July 19, the Ministry of Defense recalled recent events and activities, and also provided answers to current questions. The official statement stated that the industry launched the process of mass production of Avangard products and will soon be able to transfer finished samples to the rocket forces. In addition, the Strategic Missile Forces have begun preparations for the future acceptance of new weapons. The complex of organizational and technical measures for the adoption of new weapons into operation was carried out at the facilities of the position area of the Dombarovsky unit of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In July, it was reported that experts conducted a geodesic and engineering training of the position area necessary for the deployment of new weapons. The construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of existing ones continued. The training of personnel, weapons and various equipment was also organized.
Also in mid-summer, the Ministry of Defense showed a video from tests of the missile complex. The published video showed preparations for the launch and the start of the flight of the rocket. In addition, he showed that the UR-100H UTTH rocket was used as the Avangard carrier during the tests.
According to recent Russian media reports, preparations for the deployment of Avangard missile systems are proceeding on schedule, or with some advance. Adoption can be expected not in 2019 year, as mentioned earlier, but at the end of 2018. Almost all of the next year will be spent on training a pair of silo launchers for the 13 th missile division and upgrading the UR-100N UTTH missiles for a new stage of operation.
Thus, in accordance with the well-known plans of the command, by the beginning of 2020 of the year, at least two Avangard complexes will be on duty in strategic rocket forces. Over the next few years, their number will increase by six times due to the equipping of the first regiment and the organization of the second. Plans for further periods remain unknown and, perhaps, have not yet been defined.
Carriers of the complex
According to the available data, the intercontinental ballistic missile UR-100N UTTH will become the carrier of the promising hypersonic Avangard combat unit. In standard equipment, this product has a starting mass of more than 105 tons and delivers 6 individual targeting warheads to a range of up to 10 thousand km. It is not known how the main combat characteristics and quality of the rocket should change after the replacement of regular combat units with Avangard. There is every reason to believe that the range of delivery of the warhead will increase significantly.
Unlike standard warheads falling on a target along a ballistic trajectory, the Avant-garde product is capable of planning a flight with control on the trajectory. Obviously, such a flight method in combination with hypersonic speed after separation from the carrier will allow the combat unit to independently travel considerable distances, and along an unpredictable route. It can be assumed that the Avangard will increase the range of existing missiles by several thousand kilometers.
Use as a carrier of the UR-100N UTTH rocket has a number of specific consequences. First of all, it is necessary to take into account that this ICBM is very old, and in the foreseeable future, the Strategic Missile Forces are going to abandon it because of moral and physical obsolescence. Thus, it may turn out that the planned 12 complexes of the UR-100H UTTH and Avant-garde complexes on duty will be the first and the last of its kind. In the future, the hypersonic weapon will need a new carrier.
For several years, the assumption of the possibility of installing the Avant-garde on a promising intercontinental RS-28 Sarmat rocket has been discussed. 1 March 2018 of the Year V.Putin indicated that the Sarmat ICBM can carry different combat equipment options, including hypersonic units. It was about the Avangard product, announced by the president a bit later. Any information about the future deployment of hypersonic weapons on the "Sarmats" is not yet available.
According to the Russian press, published a few days ago, mass production of the ICBR RS-28 starts in the 2021 year. At the same time, the first missiles of a new type are planned to be transferred to parts of the Strategic Missile Forces for loading into mine launchers for the purpose of organizing combat duty. In 2021, only two missiles as part of one of the regiments will take over duty. Later, the unit will bring the number of missiles on duty to the standard number of six units. Then will begin the rearmament of other parts and compounds of the Strategic Missile Forces.
In the recent past, in the context of the Avangard project, another model of advanced weapons with the code Bound was mentioned and discussed. It was a ballistic missile RS-26. According to the available data, it was an improved analogue of the PC-24 serial product “Yars” and in the future was supposed to complement it. Due to the lack of accurate data and some confusion with designations, the Boundary project was often identified with Avangard. Later, a version appeared about the possibility of installing a hypersonic warhead on a PC-26 rocket.
From the available data it follows that the system in the form of the PC-26 and Avangard would be a mobile ground-based missile system with an intercontinental firing range and special combat qualities achieved by the new combat equipment. However, the implementation of such a concept was abandoned. At the end of March of this year, it became known that the PC-26 project is not included in the new State Arms Program. Instead, the command plans to develop the Avangard complex in the mine version. Thus, the hypersonic aircraft lost one of the potential carriers.
Any data or even rumors about the possibility of creating new versions of the Avangard complex based on one or another carrier are not yet available. According to the available information, first the complex with the UR-100N UTTH rocket will go into service. Until 2027, the strategic missile forces will have two regiments with such systems on duty. It is also possible the emergence of a certain number of "Sarmats" with products "Avangard". Whether the latter will be used with other rockets is unknown.
Weapons of the future
Officials and unnamed press sources this year helped to form a fairly detailed picture of the situation around the avant-garde hypersonic combat unit and related systems. In particular, thanks to them, plans to deploy such weapons became known. This process starts next year and will continue for several years. The Strategic Missile Forces will not put on duty the largest number of new missiles, but their numbers will apparently meet current requirements. In the future, there may be a new decision on the addition of the Avangard group in one form or another.
It is expected that the special combat equipment of the new missile system will make it possible to drastically increase the speed and effectiveness of rocket attacks on targets of a potential enemy. At the same time, the growth of combat qualities, among other things, will be ensured by the impossibility of intercepting Avangard with existing anti-missile defenses. Thus, in the near future, our country will have a real weapon of the future, capable of responding to all current and future challenges.
On the materials of the sites:
http://tass.ru/
http://kremlin.ru/
http://mil.ru/
http://ria.ru/
http://tass.ru/
http://vpk.name/
Information