By maintaining a robust and modern ICBM force, Russia aims to deter potential aggressors and preserve strategic parity with the United States.
Russia’s nuclear weapons arsenal is not only the largest in the world, but thanks to the limitations imposed on the United States by the 2010 New START treaty, it is also the most advanced. If one were to ask Google, “What is the best missile in the world?”, the artificial intelligence Gemini would immediately generate the answer of “RS-28 Sarmat.”
This is not just a quirk of a search engine. It is a shared assessment among some of the top missile experts in the world that the Russians have built themselves a truly advanced—and frightening—nuclear weapon.
In fact, Moscow has given this newer nuclear missile a name that is meant to evoke fear among their enemies. Though the missile is called the “Sarmat” for the Sarmatians, a historic confederation of Eurasian steppe warriors, it is colloquially referred to as the “Satan” missile. That’s an apt title, given the incredible destructive power it wields.
First announced in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the RS-28 Sarmat has garnered international attention due to its advanced capabilities, its massive payload capacity, and its essential role in Russia’s overarching nuclear strategy.
The Sarmat Missile’s Specs
The RS-28 Sarmat is a liquid-fueled, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with an exceptional range of around 11,185 miles—allowing it to strike targets virtually anywhere on Earth. This extended reach, combined with its ability to take unconventional flight paths—such as over the South Pole—makes it difficult for missile defense systems to track and intercept before it can deliver its lethal payload.
When reviewing its specifications, one cannot help but to marvel at the Sarmat system’s payload capacity. One missile can carry up to ten tons of warheads, significantly more than most contemporary ICBMs. This allows the missile to deploy a variety of configurations, including up to 15 independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs)—each equipped with a nuclear warhead, or even a small number of high-yield warheads exceeding 10 megatons.
Additionally, the Sarmat is reportedly compatible with the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, a maneuverable warhead capable of traveling at speeds exceeding Mach 20 (!) while evading defenses with unpredictable trajectories.
The missile’s liquid-fuel propulsion system, while more complex than solid-fuel alternatives, provides greater thrust and flexibility, enabling its massive payload and long-range capabilities.
The RS-28 is made all the more lethal by the inclusion of advanced countermeasures, such as decoys and electronic jamming systems, that are designed to penetrate sophisticated missile defense networks such as the U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system—the very same system that President Donald Trump has made as one of the key elements of his recently announced “Golden Dome” national missile defense shield.
Russia Is Beating the United States in Nuclear Arms Development
Since it was incorporated into the Russian nuclear arsenal in 2022, the RS-28 Sarmat has become the cornerstone of the Russian Armed Forces nuclear deterrence strategy, intended as a credible second-strike capability in the event of a nuclear conflict.
That it can carry the kind of payload described above, enhancing Russia’s capacity to overwhelm enemy defenses, only reinforces the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD). By maintaining a robust and modern ICBM force, Russia aims to deter potential aggressors and preserve strategic parity with the United States.
Given that the Russian nuclear arsenal is believed to be larger and likely more advanced than that of the United States, Russia even has the advantage in this area.
Why has the United States been unable to build a better nuclear deterrent? Yet again, the fault lies mostly with America’s enervated defense industrial base, which has been persistently unable to provide the resources for national security. The United States has striven to upgrade its own aging nuclear weapons arsenal by replacing the older LGM-30 Minuteman II ICBMs with newer LGM-35 Sentinel ICBMs—but that program is unlikely to survive, given the massive cost overruns and inefficiencies that have sprung up over the years.
Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat is today the most advanced ICBM in the world with the greatest destructive capability. For years, American skeptics have myopically argued that Russia was merely a gas station masquerading as a country. If so, the “gas station” has a robust defense industrial base, an army that is winning in Ukraine, and now the most advanced nuclear weapons arsenal in the world.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter@WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / ID1974.