The first complex of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will be put on combat duty at the end of 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with graduates of higher military educational institutions.

“Successful testing of the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile has been carried out.

It is planned that at the end of the year the first such complex will be on combat duty,” the head of state said.

According to him, the troops also began to receive S-500 air and missile defense systems that have no analogues in the world.

Putin stressed that Russia will strengthen and develop the armed forces, taking into account potential military threats and risks.

Among the priority areas, he singled out equipping the troops with new weapons systems, which will determine the combat capability of the army and navy in the coming years.

“We have to make wider, much wider use of robotics, the latest control and reconnaissance tools, unmanned aerial vehicles, and actively develop weapons systems based on new physical principles.

I mean laser, electromagnetic and other weapons,” Putin said.

In his address to the graduates of military universities, the President stressed that the current officers and soldiers of Russia are the heirs of the generation of winners and they are selflessly fighting for their Motherland, fighting international terrorists in Syria, defending Donbass from neo-Nazis and defending peace and security for Russians.

“We are proud that during the special military operation our fighters act courageously, professionally, like real heroes.

Russian soldiers of different nationalities fight shoulder to shoulder.

In this unity, faith in the rightness of their cause, in that huge, truly popular support that our soldiers feel, lies the great, invincible power of Russia, ”Putin said.

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Military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, in an interview with RT, noted the uniqueness of the Sarmat missile, specifying that it can carry from ten to 16 warheads of various capacities, including several Avangard hypersonic units.

According to the expert, "Sarmat" can fly to the target even through the South Pole.

“She starts very fast and cannot be spotted and hit during the start.

And then it is impossible to detect it, it flies at great speed, and each of its warheads has an individual trajectory, ”he explained.

Litovkin clarified that the missile is intended primarily to deter the enemy. 

“One such missile can destroy half a continent.

A potential adversary must understand that jokes are bad with Russia, ”concluded the interlocutor of RT.

Recall that on April 20, the Ministry of Defense reported that the first launch of the Sarmat was carried out from the mine installation at the Plesetsk cosmodrome.

“The launch tasks have been completed in full.

The design characteristics have been confirmed at all stages of its flight, ”the report says.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulating the military on the successful launch, said that this was "a big, significant event in the development of promising weapons systems for the Russian army."

The rocket was developed at the State Rocket Center named after V.P.

Makeev to replace the Soviet intercontinental missile R-36M2 "Voevoda".

At the end of May, the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), Sergei Karakaev, noted that this strategic missile system has no analogues in the world. 

He also reported that the acceleration of the Sarmat is 1.5 times shorter than that of the Voevoda, and clarified that the shorter the active section of the trajectory, the better the security of the missile system.

In turn, Deputy Commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Poroskun said that the Sarmat will be in service with the Russian strategic forces for the next 50 years due to the inherent performance characteristics.

“This missile was made only on Russian-made components, great reliability is inherent in this missile system.

This gives reason to think so, ”he said.

Poroskun added that over the next 50 years, Sarmat will become the most powerful missile in Russia's nuclear shield thanks to the advanced technological solutions embedded in it.

For the first time, the existence of this weapon was announced by the President of Russia during an address to the Federal Assembly in 2018.

According to Vladimir Putin, the creation of these weapons was a response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty at the end of 2001.