RS-26 Rubezh: What is the danger of the missile that Russia is allegedly preparing to use to strike Kyiv?
20 November 21:22
The Russian experimental ballistic missile Rubizh, which, according to many Ukrainian media outlets, the aggressor state may soon launch at Ukraine, reaches Kyiv in 8-10 minutes. Ihor Romanenko, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this in a commentary to Focus, Komersant ukrainskyi
reports.
“If launched, the RS-26 Rubizh missile will reach Kyiv in 8-10 minutes. The question is whether the Patriot SAMP-T air defense systems supplied by the West will cope with the danger,” Romanenko explained.
He added that in conventional terms, we are now dealing with non-nuclear weapons. The missile itself is much more powerful than conventional ballistics, but air defense specialists have learned to shoot down Daggers.
“Now a new missile has appeared, and the Russians want to use it to influence the ‘decision-making centers’ in Ukraine. Given the global situation, the probability of a launch is high,” Romanenko summarized.
By the way, military expert Ivan Krychevsky believes that the excitement around the possible use of the RS-26 Rubizh missile is justified.
“The question remains whether we have the means to shoot down such a missile. If it really threatens us, we will need to turn to the Americans for more powerful means than the Patriot, which was created to shoot down short-range ballistic missiles such as Iskander. To shoot down medium-range missiles, we need systems such as THAAD, which the Americans have recently used to cover Israel,” Krychevsky said on a national TV marathon on November 20.
What is known about the RS-26 Rubizhne
The Russian project of the RS-26 Rubezh strategic mobile missile system with an intercontinental ballistic missile is a development of the RS-24 Yars project. “The Rubizhne is equipped with new guided warheads to break through missile defense systems and is designed to deliver nuclear warheads.
Open sources say the missile can hit targets at a distance of up to 6,000 kilometers. Its high explosive warhead weighs 1.2 tons, which is equivalent to three Iskander-Ms.
The RS-26 “Rubezh” was developed by the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering, like the Temp-2S, Pioneer, Topol, and Yars missiles, and the Votkinsk plant produces the missiles. The first launch of the Rubezh missile took place in September 2011. Further tests were conducted at the Plesetsk, Kapustin Yar and Sary-Shagan test sites until 2015. In 2018, the missile was excluded from the weapons program until 2027.
