Russia unveils Sarmat missile which can evade modern air defence systems

Speaking in Moscow, Putin said the missile has a range of more than 35,000 kilometres and can travel along both ballistic and suborbital trajectories.

“We started working on it in 2011,” Putin said. “It is the most powerful missile system in the world.”

He claimed the Sarmat’s warhead power is more than four times that of any existing Western counterpart, adding that the missile’s flight path gives it greater range and accuracy.

Putin said the system would be placed on combat duty by the end of the year.

Russia also released footage of what it said was the latest successful test launch of the missile.

The Russian leader also said two other nuclear-powered systems, the Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle and the Burevestnik global-range cruise missile, are in the final stages of development.

He added that the medium-range Oreshnik missile system is already on combat duty and can also be fitted with nuclear warheads.

The Sarmat, developed by the Makeyev Design Bureau with industry partners, is a fifth-generation intercontinental ballistic missile. Moscow says it can deliver multiple warheads and carry Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles.

The missile’s first successful launch took place on April 20, 2022, at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region.