Russia has unveiled chilling pictures of its largest ever nuclear missile, capable of destroying an area the size of France. The RS-28 Sarmat missile, dubbed Satan 2 by Nato, has a top speed of 4.3 miles (7km) per second and has been designed to outfox anti-missile shield systems. The new Sarmat missile could deliver warheads of 40 megatons - 2,000 times as powerful as the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning to replace the country's older SS-18 Satan weapons with the new missiles.
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Russia has unveiled chilling pictures of its largest ever nuclear missile, capable of destroying an area the size of France. A contract for the weapons was signed in 2011, and they are expected to be ready in 2018
The pictures were revealed online by chief designers from the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau. A message posted alongside the picture said: 'In accordance with the Decree of the Russian Government 'On the State Defense Order for 2010 and the planning period 2012-2013', the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau was instructed to start design and development work on the Sarmat. ' The RS-28 Sarmat missile is said to contain 16 nuclear warheads and is capable of destroying an area the size of France or Texas, according to Russian news network Zvezda, which is owned by Russia's ministry of defence. The weapon is also able to evade radar. It is expected to have a range of 6,213 miles (10,000 km), which would allow Moscow to attack London and other European cities as well as reaching cities on America's west and east coasts.
Igor Sutyagin, an expert in Russian nuclear capability at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told MailOnline: 'The SS-18 is more than 30 years old. It is past its sell-by date. 'So even if you had the warmest relations in the world with Nato you would want to update your missiles. 'But (President) Putin of course is happy for it to be portrayed as an aggressive move. He wants to stress his unpredictability and his importance.'
Each missile contains 16 nuclear warheads, according to pictures revealed online from the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau. It is also able to evade radar.
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Earlier this year, a Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile system was paraded through Red Square during the Victory Day parade but there was no sign of the RS-28 Sarmat
Dr Sutyagin points out that the SS-18 missiles which the Russians currently rely on were designed in 1988 during the Soviet Union and were built at a factory in Dnipropetrovsk, in what is now the Ukraine. [h=3]COULD RUSSIAN LAUNCH NUCLEAR ATTACK FROM SPACE? [/h]Russia is readying itself to become a leader in the construction of hypersonic aircraft, a new report reveals.
Kremlin-backed media claim engineers in the Federation are among the first in the world to work towards new materials for planes capable of reaching hypersonic speeds.
The move could help Russia produce a new fleet of aerial war machines that could launch nuclear attacks from space.
Aviation researchers are reportedly working to develop the materials which can withstand the stress and high temperatures of travelling many times the speed of sound.
He said the Russians cannot totally rely on the Ukraine-based maintenance engineers and he said Sarmat were designed and built by Russians at the Khrunichev plant just outside Moscow. Dr Sutyagin they would be no match for Nato systems like Aegis Ashore, the controversial missile defence shield which the US is deploying to Romania.
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If a Sarmat missile were fired at London it would wipe out most of Britain, as well as northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands
He said: 'Not only are they too fast but they have got rid of the predictable flight path. 'It manouevres all the way so it is terribly difficult for any missile defence system to shoot it down.' The Russian Defence Ministry plans to put the Sarmat into service in late 2018 and remove the last SS-18 by 2020. The Sarmat has been in development since 2009 and is scheduled to start replacing the old ICBMs in 2018. The new missile is said to be undergoing testing near Miass in Russia.
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Vladimir Putin pictured at a Victory Day parade earlier this year
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Fat Boy, the atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945 (pictured), delivered 20 kilotons of power. Sarmat would be 2,000 times more powerful
[h=2]Putin's greatest warning to the West yet: Russia unveils first image of its Satan 2 super-nuke that is 2,000 TIMES more powerful than Hiroshima atomic bomb[/h]
Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly planning to replace the country's older SS-18 Satan weapons (main picture) with the new missiles. The new RS-28 Sarmat missile (pictured inset), dubbed Satan 2 by Nato, has a top speed of seven kilometres (4.3 miles) per second and has been designed to outfox anti-missile shield systems.
