Happy 51st RVSN Day . . . Commander General-Lieutenant Sergey Karakayev indicated that service life extension can keep Voyevoda, Stiletto, and Topol in the strategic missile inventory until 2026. The RVSN is working on ICBM modernization, and has RDT&E in the GPV to deal with new challenges and threats to its missile force.
According to ITAR-TASS, Karakayev said:
“Nevertheless, the service life of the RS-18 ICBM (U.S. and NATO classification Stiletto) has already reached 33 years. For the RS-20V missile (Voyevoda) and RS-12M (Topol), this term is 23 and 24 years respectively. And the initial warranty period was defined as 10-15 years. Practice has shown that the service life of the systems considerably exceeds the established warranty term of use. It is quite difficult now to determine definitely what kind of safety margin there is. A series of experimental-design work is being conducted with this goal.”
“The economic expedience of such work is obvious. For example, extending the service life of the RS-20V (Voyevoda) missile system will allow us to keep the world’s most powerful missiles in the RVSN force until 2026. Such possibilities also exist for RS-18 and RS-12M missiles.”
“Replacing them with new missiles would require financial outlays far exceeding expenditures on this work. At present, there are no unresolved technical problems to the further extension of the service lives of the missile systems.”
“Together with the general designers from a whole row of domestic industrial enterprises and organizations, the missile troops are conducting work not only to support the condition and the improvement of existing missile armament, but also their significant modernization, with a constant goal: under any conditions, to provide a guaranteed resolution of the missions of nuclear deterrence. Everything is subordinate to this, including measures to modernize the combat equipment of missile systems, which are fully adequate for both the emerging and forecasted military-strategic environment.”
“The scientific-technical and design pool of domestic military missile building will allow us to react flexibly to rising challenges and threats to Russia’s security. The RDT&E laid out in the State Program of Armaments for 2011-2020 is directed at this.”
Russian Defense Policy 