Russia reportedly launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine, the first combat use of the weapon since its inception nearly six decades ago. Additionally, Moscow used Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technology to target “critical infrastructure” in Dnipro, Ukraine, the first-ever use of this technology.
ICBMs have a range of more than 5,500 kilometers and are designed to carry nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It can also carry a conventional warhead, which Russia has reportedly used on the RS-26 Rubezh ballistic missile. The missile was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, 1,000 km from the damage site in Ukraine.
Videos have emerged on social media and Telegram handles where at least some weapons are re-entering and targeting infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia has “declined to comment” on the launch of the ICBM, although Kiev has confirmed its use.
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The launch came just a day after Putin signed off on changes to nuclear doctrine. The changes in doctrine state that an attack by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear state would be viewed as a joint attack on it by Russia. Recently the US has given Ukraine permission to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia.
ICBM and MIRV Tech
Rubez is a solid fuel ICBM equipped with MIRV technology. It was developed in 2011 and successfully tested for the first time in 2012, hitting a target 5,800 km away from the launch site.
Solid-fuel missiles do not require refueling immediately after launch and are often easier to operate. It is a mixture of fuel and oxidizer bound together by a hard rubber material and packed in a metal casing.
When the solid-propellant burns in the RS-26, the oxygen from the fuel element releases enormous amounts of energy, creating thrust and helping take off.
A ballistic missile follows a parabolic trajectory with a boost, mid-course and terminal phase. The highest point where the missile reaches is called apogee and for ICBMs, it is more than 4,000 km. During atmospheric re-entry or terminal phase, the kinetic energy increases with the missile speed reaching Mach 10, making the missile difficult to stop.
ICBMs with MIRV technology allow multiple warheads to hit multiple targets located at different locations with a single missile. These weapons can be nuclear or non-nuclear.
With the help of these bomb technology, they can target locations at a distance of several hundred kilometers and some MIRVed missiles can also target targets located at a distance of 1,500 kilometers.
In Dnipro, at least six bombs or weapons were dropped in the area and anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) have to be dealt with separately from such weapons. Therefore, the ABM system attempts to destroy the missile before the warhead stage separates.
The US was the first country to develop MIRV technology, deploying the MIRVed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 1970 and the MIRVed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in 1971. The Soviet Union quickly followed suit and developed its own MIRV-capable ICBM and SLBM technology by the late 1970s.
The signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was important in reducing tensions between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It required the United States and the Soviet Union to dismantle and permanently abandon all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. This was the first time that both factions agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals.
As a result of the INF Treaty, the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed a total of 2,692 short, medium, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty’s implementation deadline of June 1, 1991. In 2019, the United States formally withdrew from it. Treaty, which has now ceased to exist.
India’s ICBM and MIRV Tech
This year, India successfully conducted the first flight test of Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) with Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully tested the MIRV technology, which was in development for several years, putting India in the elite list of countries that have the capability.
The Agni-5 missile has an operational range of at least 5,000 km which can target cities, the MIRV technology puts multiple cities under target within that range, providing a wider safety net and many more under the reach of the missile. Provides space. The actual range of missiles is always unknown.
