The R-39 Rif ( NATO reporting name: SS-N-20 ''Sturgeon''; bilateral arms control designation: RSM-52) was a

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

(SLBM) that served with the Soviet Navy from its introduction in 1983 until 1991, after which it served with the Russian Navy until 2004. The missile had

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...

indices of 3M65, 3M20, and 3R65. It was carried on board

Typhoon-class submarine The Typhoon class, Soviet designation Project 941 ''Akula'' (russian: Акула, meaning "shark", NATO reporting name Typhoon), is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet ...

s. An intercontinental missile, the R-39 had a three-stage solid-fuel boost design with a liquid-fuel post-boost unit carrying up to ten

multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with in ...

warheads. Like other SLBMs the initial launch was powered by a gas generator in the bottom of the firing tube. During the missile's passage through the water additional motors produce a gaseous wall around the missile, reducing hydrodynamic resistance. The launch system was designated "D-19".

Development

Development work began at NII Mashinostroyeniya in 1971 and the design gained official approval in 1973. Initial test flights from 1979 found problems in the solid-fuel boost engines, over half of the early flights failed. Later tests aboard a modified

were more successful and deployment began in May 1983, with 20 missiles in each submarine. At full deployment, 120 missiles were deployed with 1,200 total warheads. Under the terms of the

START I START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the reduction and the limitation of strategic offensive arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 De ...

and

START II START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yel ...

treaties, from 1996 a number of R-39 missiles were destroyed. Throughout the 1990s, Typhoon class submarines and the R-39 missiles they carried were gradually withdrawn from service. All the missiles were decommissioned by 2004 and all the Typhoon class submarines have been retired, except for one which is used as a test platform for the

RSM-56 Bulava The RSM-56 Bulava (russian: Булава, lit. "mace", NATO reporting name SS-NX-30 or SS-N-32, GRAU index 3M30, 3K30) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed for the Russian Navy and deployed in 2013 on the new of ballist ...

. A successor design, R-39M Grom (russian: Гром, Thunder)/RSM-52V/SS-N-28 for D-19UTTKh launch system, suffered a succession of testing failures and was cancelled.

Operators

Former operators

; * Russian Navy ; * Soviet Navy

References

External links

Russian nuclear forces 2005The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
March/April 2005.

{{DEFAULTSORT:R-039 Submarine-launched ballistic missiles of the Soviet Union Submarine-launched ballistic missiles of Russia Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau Military equipment introduced in the 1980s

Development

Operators

Former operators

See also

References

External links