The RS-24 Yars: a Russian Mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
This strategic weapons system represents a fundamental pillar of Russian nuclear deterrence. Its mobile design gives it exceptional survivability, making it difficult for an adversary to locate and neutralize it before launch. 🚚💥
Launch Platform and Mobility
The heart of the system is a 16-wheeled TEL launcher vehicle, built to travel on roads and complex terrain. This constant mobility is its main shield, allowing it to evade detection. The missile, 23 meters long, travels inside a cylindrical container at the rear of the truck.
Operational Deployment Process:- The vehicle stops at a predetermined position and activates stabilization systems.
- Powerful hydraulic jacks raise the heavy container to a fully vertical position.
- The entire procedure to prepare for launch is completed in minutes.
Its mobility is its main advantage, allowing it to hide in vast forested areas or move constantly, making it very difficult to track its exact location.
Technical and Armament Capabilities
The RS-24 Yars is designed to overcome and saturate enemy defenses. Its launch container has dimensions of 3.4 meters in diameter and 3.3 meters in height. The TEL vehicle has a driving cab divided into separate sections, a configuration that improves crew protection during high-alert operations.
Key Armament Features:- It can carry between three and six MIRV nuclear warheads (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles).
- Each MIRV warhead can be directed to a different geographic target.
- This capability allows a single launcher to threaten multiple cities or military bases simultaneously.
Strategic Function and Presence
As the mobile land component of the Russian nuclear triad, its role is to deter a first strike. The uncertainty about its actual location greatly complicates planning a preemptive attack against it. Although its appearance in military parades offers a striking visual spectacle, its true power lies in remaining hidden and ready, guaranteeing a massive response capability. Its existence underscores the extreme complexity of modern anti-missile defense scenarios