Russia falters again in testing Sarmat nuclear missile

The Sarmat nuclear Russian ballistic missile, touted by Russia as its “most formidable” modern weapon, exploded during testing – detonating in its silo and destroying the test site. 

The test launch occurred on September 21 at the Plesetsk spaceport, as reported by open-source intelligence researchers who cited satellite images from Planet Labs.

“The RS-28 Sarmat test was a complete failure. The missile detonated in the silo leaving a massive crater and destroying the test site. The Sarmat is a liquid fueled missile so this accident could have occurred separate from the actual launch activity,” analysts said.

Satellite images show a large chasm created by the explosion, but the cause of the malfunction remains unknown.

“Given that the Sarmat has a liquid-fueled rocket engine, a detonation incident may have occurred, resulting in the chasm. There’s also a possibility that the missile fell during a launch attempt. Four fire trucks can be seen in the satellite images,” noted the military-focused publication Militarnyi.

Russia has achieved only one successful launch out of five attempts with the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental missile since its introduction – specifically on April 20, 2022.

Russia boasts that the intercontinental missile Sarmat, which can carry a nuclear payload, as a new step in bolstering its nuclear deterrent capabilities. 

“The missile entered service in 2023, but since then, all attempts to conduct test launches of operationally ready missiles have failed,” Militarnyi added.