Russia’s ballistic capacity is well known to the world. In the latest development, Russia has deployed autonomous launchers of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) RS-24 Yars on combat patrol routes which are equipped with nuclear weapons. According to reports, the deployment of Yars ICBM launchers during the exercise indicates that Russia may further escalate the conflict with Ukraine, which may undermine the recent peace talks with the US. This missile of Russia can attack up to America.
This is also special because the Kremlin has the world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenal. It is even more than the US. In such a situation, the use of ICBMs can cause more damage than non-nuclear missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry wrote, Yars PGRK autonomous launchers have been deployed on combat patrol routes in the Novosibirsk missile formation.
What is Yars missile?
The RS-24 Yars is a strategic nuclear missile designed to carry multiple re-entry vehicles. It can be delivered to a variety of targets and multiple nuclear warheads. The ICBM can be mounted on truck carriers or deployed in silos. Russian media have previously described the missile as a variant of Moscow’s Topol-M missile.
The Yars intercontinental ballistic missile has a range of around 11,000 to 12,000 kilometres. It is capable of carrying four multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) warheads, each with a yield of around 500 kilotons.
This is not the first time the Russian military has deployed the Yars during training exercises. The missile has been loaded into silos at the Kozelsk missile base in the Kaluga region, southwest of the capital, on several occasions in 2022, 2023 and 2024.