Weight 45,100 kg (99,400 lb) | In service 1968-1976 Length 21.5 m (71 ft) | |
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Used by Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces | ||
The RT-2 was an intercontinental ballistic missile deployed by the Soviet Union, which was in service from December 1968 until 1976. It was assigned the NATO reporting name SS-13 Savage and carried the GRAU index 8K98. Designed by OKB-1, about 60 were built by 1972.
Contents
- Map of MA 2 Massachusetts USA
- History
- Operations
- Command and Control
- General Characteristics
- Operators
- References
Map of MA-2, Massachusetts, USA
History
The RT-2 was the first solid-propellant ICBM in Soviet service, and was a development of the earlier RT-1 series. It was a three-stage inertially-guided missile comparable to the American Minuteman III. It was armed with a single 600 kiloton warhead and was silo-launched, although a rail-based version was contemplated by Soviet planners. It was deployed in the Yoshkar-Ola missile field.
The Soviets used the two upper stages of the RT-2 to develop the RT-15 mobile IRBM system. The RT-2PM Topol is supposedly a modernized version of the RT-2
Operations
The RT-2 was capable of delivering a 1,200 lb (540 kg) class payload to a maximum operational range of approximately 5,500 nautical miles(10,186 km)
Command and Control
A single launch control center (LCC) monitored numbers of launchers. The hardened and dispersed silo concept increased system survivability and provided steady environmental controls from the solid-propellant motors. Headquarters RVSN exercised normal control of the RT-2 missile force, through an intermediate RVSN Army and launch complex headquarters (HCC). A launch complex consisted of an HCC and several LCCs, monitoring numerous underground launchers.