SS-18 Satan / (RS-20A/B/R-36M/15A14/15A18)

Strategic Missile Troops (RVSN)

This missile is intended for use against strategic targets of all types at intercontinental ranges.

The SS-18 was an evolutionary follow-on to the SS-9. The SS-18, along with the SS-17 and SS-19, deployed in the 1970s, represent the fourth generation of Soviet ICBMs. Like the other fourth generation missiles, the SS-18 is transported and stored in a sealed capsule. SS-18s were designated "heavy" missiles under SALT II, and a limit of 308 such heavy ICBMs was established, with Russia soon deploying to that limit. Though limited by treaty to 10 warheads each, the SS-18 is allegedly able to carry more -- its massive throw-weight certainly suggests such.

During the Cold War the SS-18 was perhaps the most feared of Russian strategic systems (hence its demonic NATO designation) because of the supposed threat it posed to U.S. ICBM silos. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Committee on the Present Danger (among others) touted the "window of vulnerability" -- the threat the large, accurate SS-18 posed to U.S. ICBMs. This fear of ICBM vulnerability (which didn't take into account the invulnerability of the sea leg, and the alert posture of the air leg) was a significant impetus for the nuclear buildup of the 1980s iniated by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

The Reagan administration and the first Bush administration made this missile the focus of their arms control efforts because of its destabilizing capability. With the SS-18 in mind, the START II treaty banned land-based MIRV systems for ICBMs. In recent years, through the Nunn-Lugar program, the United States has sponsored the dismantlement of many of these missiles.


The RS-20B represents a further development of the RS-20A missile, the principle difference being a new combat stage.

The new version also boasts improved accuracy, greater nuclear warhead yield and a wider RV dispensing area.

No attempt was made to redesign the first and second stages. The functional diagram of the missile systems and the transport launch canister remained the same. The bus motor propellant is identical to that of the sustainers: asymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.

The modernized guidance/control system ensures reduced instrumental and methodical errors due to improvements in control units and onboard computer software. The SS-18 has the Russian designation RS-20 and it is believed to have identification numbers 15A14 (RS- 20A) for the Mod 1 and Mod 2 versions, 15A18 (RS-20B) for the Mod 3, and 15A18M (RS-20V) for the Mod 4 version. The SS-18 was also given the Russian designator R-36M to indicate that it was derived from the earlier R-36 (SS-9 `Scarp') ballistic missile. As with the smaller SS-17 and SS-19, the SS-18 was an evolutionary development of an existing missile, the SS-9; this latter missile being used as the development vehicle for the MIRV technology to be incorporated on the SS-18. Development of the SS-18 began in 1964 with the first, single Re-entry Vehicle (RV), version being deployed in 1975. A modification 2 version, with eight RVs in MIRV configuration, was deployed a year later in 1976. A third version, Mod 3, with a single warhead and a greater range was introduced in 1980.

Under the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) terms, the SS-18, was classed as `heavy', as was the US Titan missile. The terms of the SALT 2 Treaty allowed modernisation of missiles in this `heavy' category, but new missiles were not permitted, and SALT 2 allowed a maximum of 820 land-based Inter-Continental-range Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), of which no more than 308 may be of the `heavy' SS-18 category. Early flight tests of a modification 4 (10 RV) version SS-18 missile did not prove successful. The first launch, in April 1986, exploded soon after clearing the silo and another launch in September 1986 ended when an explosion occurred during the separation of the first and second stages. The Mod 4 version entered service in 1988.

Tests in the later 1980s were made using a single RV, and this version was believed to be Mod 5, although it could have been a Mod 3 version, from which it is deduced that the Russians may have had a continuing interest in a missile with one, very powerful warhead. These single warhead tests may have been part of a comparative test programme designed to establish the best way of countering the improved hardness of modern silos, given that single warhead missiles have a greater accuracy and hard target capability than MIRV systems. Description The SS-18 is the largest of the `fourth-generation' Russian inter-continental ballistic missiles and the only `heavy' missile permitted under the SALT 2 Treaty. It is a two-stage, liquid-propelled missile. SS-18 Mods 1 and 2 are 33.6 m long and 3 m in diameter. It is believed that the first stage uses the four-motor RD-251 propulsion system producing 460 tonne thrust, and the second stage uses the single motor RD-0229/0230 system producing 77 tonne thrust. The first stage is controlled by deflecting the motor nozzles, and the second stage by four vernier motors. Both first and second stages use Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and N204 liquid propellants. The bus motor is a solid-propellant motor. Launch weight is 215,000 kg and the throw weight (payload) is 7,200 kg. These missiles have inertial navigation with digital computer guidance and control. The Mod 1 missile had a single 24 MT nuclear warhead, a range of 10,500 km and an accuracy of 430 m CEP. The Mod 2 version had eight MIRVs, each with a 900 kT nuclear warhead and a range of 9,250 km.

The Mod 3 and 4 versions are 34.3 m long and have an increased launch weight of 217,000 kg. Improvements were made to the accuracy for these versions of SS-18, with increased warhead yields and a wider MIRV dispersed area. The second stage has been modified and the engines are single motor RD-0256/0257. The bus motors are liquid propellant using the same propellants as the first two stages. The Mod 3 has a single 20 MT nuclear warhead and a range of 16,000 km. The Mod 4 version has 10 MIRVs, each with a 500 kT nuclear warhead, and a range of 11,000 km. The Mod 4 version also has improved protection against nuclear bursts, improved accuracy and better reliability. The Russians declared both one and 10 RV versions for the STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) data exchange in 1991, believed to be Mod 3 and 4 versions, together with a throw weight of 8,800 kg for the SS-18. Subsequent data indicates that the payload bay is 8.0 m long.

Like other fourth generation ICBMs, the SS-18 is deployed in a launch canister within the silo to provide environmental protection to the missile during transportation and silo loading. The missiles can remain fuelled and on alert for several years. The missile has a life of 22 years, but in 1999 it was reported that this life was to be extended. Operational status The SS-18 was deployed operationally in 1975 in former SS-9 silos and launch complexes converted and improved to accommodate the larger SS-18 missiles. The Mod 2 version was introduced in 1976, the Mod 3 in 1980 and the Mod 4 in 1988. The number of SS-18s deployed was estimated to be 308, the 1991 level of deployment for this system. In 1991, there were six major SS-18 operational sites, four in Russia and two in Kazakhstan. The Russian sites were at Dombarovsky (64 silos), Kartaly (46), Aleysk (30) and Uzhur (64). The two Kazakhstan sites were at Derzhavinsk (52 silos) and Zhangiz-Tobe (52). Training facilities were located at Balabanovo and Panerki in Russia and testing was located at Leninsk with 10 test silos. Missile storage was at Pibanshur and Khrizolitovy, with 58 missiles in store.

The START 1 agreement requires the SS-18 missiles to be reduced to 154 by 2001, and the START 2 proposals that the remaining SS-18 missiles will be removed from their silos and destroyed by 2007. START 2 was ratified by the Russian Federation in May 2000, and some missiles may now be used as satellite launch vehicles rather than being destroyed. In addition, it is believed that the Russians will modify some of the former SS-18 silos to accept the SS-27 (Topol-M) missiles, but it is not known how many silos will be modified. By extending the life of some of the later SS-18 missiles, the Russians are indicating that they would like to amend the START 2 provisions to allow some multiple warhead land-based ballistic missiles to remain in service.

In December 1994, the number of operational missiles had reduced to 255, by July 1996 to 193, and by January 1998 to 180. At January 2000, there were still 180 missiles in service, with 122 Mod 3 and 58 Mod 4 standard. It is reported that all 104 missiles in Kazakhstan have been deactivated and by January 1998, all the missiles had been removed. Some of the missiles removed from Kazakhstan were the Mod 3 single warhead version. All the silos in Kazakhstan had been destroyed by September 1996. An SS-18 destruction plant has been built at Surovatikha near Nizhny Novgorod and this has the capacity to destroy around 30 missiles per year, although there are plans to increase this rate to 50 per year. A trials SS-18 launch was made in June 1995 from Baikonur, testing an 18 year old missile, and a further trial was made in April 1997 successfully testing a 20 year old missile. By January 1999, there had been 157 SS-18 missile test launches completed, with a reported success rate of 97 per cent. The Yuzhnoye NPO offered a civilianised variant of the SS-18 missile, for use as a launcher for large payloads (up to 4,000 kg) into low Earth orbit in 1991. The first launch of a converted SS-18 missile was made in April 1999, with the satellite launch vehicle named Dnepr-1, as a joint Russian Federation and Ukraine programme. The launch was made from one of four available silos at Baikonur, and there are plans to convert a further 20 to 50 missiles for use as SLVs rather than destroying them as required under the START agreements.

27.07.2006: Dnepr missile with 18 commercial sats crashed during 1st minute of start.