There are indications that a test recently conducted on Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile failed, as suggested by arms experts and satellite images of the launch site. Low-resolution Maxar satellite images taken on September 21 show that a crater of about 60 meters (200 feet) in diameter is observable at the launch silo of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The images taken earlier in the month showed no signs of damage around the area.
There are some accounts that the RS-28 Sarmat, the Satan II, may have exploded in the silo during the attempt to launch, leaving a large hole. The observations point to the possibility of the failure happening during the launch or the refueling stages.
Pavel Podvig, an analyst with the Russian Nuclear Forces project in Geneva, summed it up concisely: “By all indications, it was a failed test”. The local community described it as a large pit in the ground. I heard something like, “We have had an event with the missile and the silo.”
The Russian defense ministry has not been reaching out for comments nor announced anything about the next Sarmat tests.
Russian media said the RS-28 Sarmat missile is 35 meters long, has a range of 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles), and weighs more than 208 tonnes at launch. It can currently lift up to 16 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) nuclear warheads as well as some Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles.
