RS-26 Rubezh
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The RS-26 Rubezh (, meaning ''frontier'' or ''boundary''), designated by NATO as SS-X-31, is a Russian solid-fueled
intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range between (), categorized between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ball ...
(IRBM) with a
nuclear warhead A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
, of which the range bracket just barely classifies it as an
intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
(ICBM). It is equipped with a
thermonuclear Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or absorption of ener ...
MIRV 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 i ...
or MaRV payload, and is also intended to be capable of carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The RS-26 is based on RS-24 Yars, and constitutes a shorter version of the RS-24 with one fewer stages. The development process of the RS-26 has been largely comparable to that of the
RSD-10 Pioneer The RSD-10 ''Pioneer'' ( tr.: ''raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"''; ) was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. It carried GRAU designation 15Ж45 (''15Zh45''). ...
, a shortened derivative of the
RT-21 Temp 2S The RT-21 Temp 2S () was a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-16 Sinner and carried the industry designation 15Zh42 (15Ж42). The RT-21 was the ...
. Deployment of the RS-26 is speculated to have a similar strategic impact as the RSD-10.


History

After an unsuccessful test launch in September 2011, it was test-launched successfully on 26 May 2012, from the
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Plesetsk Cosmodrome () is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. Until 2025 and the commissioning of the Andøya Space, Andøya base in Norway, it was the only operati ...
in north-western Russia, hitting its target minutes later 5,800 km away at the Kura Missile Test Range on the
Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...
. Further tests were performed successfully from
Kapustin Yar Kapustin Yar () is a Russian military training area and a rocket launch complex in Astrakhan Oblast, about 100 km east of Volgograd. It was established by the Soviet Union on 13 May 1946. In the beginning, Kapustin Yar used technology, material ...
to Sary Shagan in 2012 and 2013. In 2018, it was reported that procurement of the RS-26 by the state armament plan until 2027 had been frozen, with funding diverted toward continued procurement of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.


Rumored operational use

According to the
Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force (, PS ZSU) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU). Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Fo ...
and ''
Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
'', on 21 November 2024, during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the Russian Federation launched an unspecified number of conventionally armed (i.e. non-nuclear) RS-26 missiles, reportedly targeting critical infrastructure in the city of
Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
in central Ukraine. Russian government spokesperson
Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
confirmed that the strike had indeed not been performed by an ICBM, but a new model of IRBM, the Oreshnik, using a non-nuclear hypersonic payload.


Political criticism

The missile was criticized by Western defense observers for indirectly breaching the (now defunct)
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (and its successor state, the Russia, Russian Federation). President of the United States, US President Ronald Rea ...
(INF Treaty), which prohibited the U.S. and Russia from possessing nuclear and conventional ground-launched
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
s,
cruise missiles A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
, and missile launchers with ranges of . The missile was demonstrated with a light or no payload, extending its range beyond the proscribed limit of the treaty; however, all subsequent tests were flights with significantly shorter ranges that fell within the treaty prohibitions. The RS-26 was twice tested at a distance of about . According to ''
The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, ...
'', the RS-26 is exactly the same concept and a direct replacement for the
RSD-10 Pioneer The RSD-10 ''Pioneer'' ( tr.: ''raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"''; ) was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. It carried GRAU designation 15Ж45 (''15Zh45''). ...
—known to NATO as the SS-20 Saber—which was banned under the INF treaty. The RS-26 is designed to pose a strategic threat to European capitals and has the ability to target NATO forces in Western Europe. According to an article by Jeffrey Lewis entitled "The problem with Russia's missiles", the purpose of these weapons is to deter Western forces from coming to the aid of NATO's newer eastern members that are located closer to Russia's borders.


See also

*
Agni-V Agni-V (Sanskrit: अग्नि; lit. Fire) is a land based nuclear MIRV-capable Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India. The missile has a range of more than ...
* DF-41 * DF-5 *
LGM-30 Minuteman The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G (Version 3) is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and represents th ...
*
R-36 (missile) The R-36 () is a family of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and space launch vehicles (Tsyklon) designed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The original R-36 was deployed under the GRAU index 8K67 and was given the NATO reportin ...
*
RS-28 Sarmat The RS-28 Sarmat (, named after the Sarmatians; NATO reporting name: SS-X-29 or SS-X-30), often colloquially referred to as Satan II by media outlets, is a three-stage Russian silo-based, liquid-fueled, HGV-capable and FOBS-capable super-h ...
* RT-2PM Topol *
RT-2PM2 Topol-M The RT-2PM2 «Topol-M» (, NATO reporting name: SS-27 "Sickle B", other designations: SS-27 Mod 1, RS-12M1, RS-12M2, formerly incorrectly RT-2UTTKh) is one of the most recent intercontinental ballistic missiles to be deployed by Russia, and the f ...
*
Strategic Missile Troops The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic miss ...
*
UR-100N The UR-100N, also known as RS-18A, is an intercontinental ballistic missile in service with Soviet and Russian Strategic Missile Troops. The missile was given the NATO reporting name SS-19 Stiletto and carries the industry designation 15A30. Dev ...


References

{{Russian and Soviet missiles, SSM Nuclear missiles of Russia Intercontinental ballistic missiles of Russia Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology products Post–Cold War weapons of Russia Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2011 MIRV capable missiles