Editor-DN
New Delhi:
Russia reportedly launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) over Ukraine, marking the first combat use of the weapon since its founding nearly six decades ago. Additionally, Moscow used multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV) technology to target “critical infrastructure” in Dnipro, Ukraine, also the first use of the technology.
ICBMs have a range of over 5,500 km and are designed to carry nuclear, chemical and biological warheads. It can also carry a conventional warhead, which Russia reportedly used on the RS-26 Rubezh, ballistic missile. The missile was fired from the Astrakhan region of Russia, which is 1,000 kilometers away from the site of damage in Ukraine.
Videos have surfaced on social media and Telegram handles, showing at least warheads re-entering and targeting infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia has “refused to comment” on the ICBM launch even though Kiev has confirmed its use.
The launch comes just a day after Putin signed changes to the nuclear doctrine. The changes in doctrine state that an attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear state would be seen by Russia as a joint attack on it. Recently, the US has allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia.
ICBM and MIRV Tech
Robes is a solid-fueled 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 from the launch site.
Solid-fueled missiles do not require refueling immediately after launch and this is often easier to do. It is a mixture of fuel and an oxidizer that are bonded to a hard rubber material and enclosed in a metal casing.
When the solid propellant burns in the RS-26, oxygen from the fuel element releases a large amount of energy, creating excitation and aiding in shutdown.
A ballistic missile follows a parabolic trajectory with boost, mid-course and terminal phase. The highest point the missile reaches is called apogee and for ICBMs it is more than 4000 km. During atmospheric re-entry or the terminal phase, the kinetic energy combined with the missile’s velocity exceeds Mach 10, making the missile difficult to intercept.
ICBMs, with MIRV technology, allow multiple targets located at different locations to be engaged with multiple warheads from a single missile. These warheads can be nuclear or non-nuclear.
These bombs can hit targets several hundred kilometers away with the help of technology and some MIRVed missiles can even hit targets separated by a distance of 1500 km.
In Dnipro, at least six bombs or warheads were dropped over the region and anti-ballistic missiles (ABM) have to engage separately with such weapons. Therefore, ABM systems attempt to destroy the missile before it separates from the warhead stage.
The United States 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 soon followed suit and by the late 1970s had developed its own MIRV-capable ICBM and SLBM technology.
The signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was instrumental in reducing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It called on the United States and the Soviet Union to permanently decommission all their nuclear and conventional land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km. It was the first time both blocs 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-, intermediate-, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty’s entry into force deadline of June 1, 1991. Agreement, which has now ceased to exist.
India’s ICBMs and MIRV Tech
This year, India successfully conducted the first flight test of the Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) with the Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) conducted a successful test of the MIRV technology that had been in development for several years, adding India to the list of capable countries.
The Agni-5 missile has an operational range of at least 5,000 km that can target cities, MIRV technology puts many cities under the target within this range, providing a wide safety net and many within the missile’s reach. Places are found. The actual range of missiles is always unknown.
