Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle)

Short description: Russian missile

Avangard
Авангард

The UR-100UTTKh ICBM launched from the Dombarovsky Air Base carrying the Avangard

Type| Hypersonic glide vehicle
Place of origin| Russia
Service history
In service| 2019–present[1]
Used by| Strategic Rocket Forces
Production history
Designer| Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology
Manufacturer| Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Produced| 2018–present[2]
Specifications
Mass| ~2 tonnes (4,400 lb)[3]
Length| 5.4 m[4]

* * *

Blast yield| 0.8–2 Mt[4]

* * *

Speed| Mach 28[5][6][7]

Launch
platform

| ICBM Topol M, YARS, R-36 M2, RS-28 and Bulava

The Avangard (Russian: Авангард, "Vanguard"; previously known as Objekt 4202, Yu-71 and Yu-74) is a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) that can be carried as an MIRV payload by the UR-100UTTKh,[8][9] R-36M2 and RS-28 Sarmat heavy ICBMs. It can deliver both nuclear and conventional payloads.[10][11][12] The Avangard is reportedly capable of travelling at re-entry speeds (over mach 25).[13]

The Avangard is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Design
* 3 Operators
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Further reading

## History

File:Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.webm According to Vladimir Putin, the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in 2002 forced Russia to start developing hypersonic weapons: "We had to create these [hypersonic] weapons in response to the US deployment of a strategic missile defense system, which in the future would be capable of virtually neutralizing, zeroing out all our nuclear potential".[14] In 2007, when asked about U.S. plans to deploy ballistic missile defenses in Europe, Putin mentioned that Russia was developing “strategic weapons systems of a completely different type that will fly at hypersonic speed and will be able to change trajectory both in terms of altitude and direction".[15]

The Avangard (then called Yu-71 and Yu-74) was reportedly flight tested between February 2015 and June 2016 on board UR-100UTTKh ICBMs launched from Dombarovsky Air Base, Orenburg Oblast, when it reached a speed of 11,200 kilometres per hour (7,000 mph; 3,100 m/s) and successfully hit targets at the Kura Missile Test Range, Kamchatka Krai.[citation needed]

In October 2016, another flight test was carried out using a R-36M2 heavy ICBM launched from Dombarovsky Air Base, successfully hitting a target at the Kura Missile Test Range. This was reportedly the first fully successful test of the glide vehicle.[16]

On 1 March 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin in his presidential address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow announced that testing of the weapon is now complete and that it has entered serial production.[17] This was further confirmed by the commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakayev (ru).[18][19]

The latest flight test occurred on 26 December 2018. Avangard carried by a UR-100UTTKh ICBM launched from Dombarovsky Air Base successfully hit a target at the Kura Missile Test Range.[citation needed] The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Yury Borisov stated a day later that the glider flew at 27 times the speed of sound, "invulnerable to interception".[6]

According to Russian Defense Ministry's press service/TASS, the Avangard missile system with the hypersonic glide-vehicle was demonstrated to the US inspection group in accordance with the New START treaty procedures on November 24–26, 2019.[20]

On 27 December 2019, the first missile regiment armed with the Avangard HGV officially entered combat duty.[1]

On 19 September 2020, Herbert Efremov, an Advisor for Science at the NPO Mashinostroyenia, was awarded Order of St. Andrew for his contributions to the Avangard development.[21]

## Design

HGVs differ from traditional ballistic missiles by their ability to maneuver and operate at lower altitudes.[22] The combination of maneuverability and high speed poses significant challenges for conventional missile defense. With the advantage again swinging toward attack, the defense industry speculates that weapons of this type will reignite the kind of arms race that dominated the cold war era.[23]

According to open-source analysis by Jane's, Avangard is a pure glide vehicle without an independent propulsion system.[24] When approaching a target, the glider supposedly is capable of sharp high speed horizontal and vertical evasive maneuvers in flight, which Russian officials claim makes it "invulnerable to any missile defence system". The blast yield of a nuclear warhead carried by the Avangard is reportedly more than 2 megatons TNT.[25]

The high speed of the Avangard likely gives it far better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles. The Avangard weighs about 2,000 kg and travels at Mach 20–27, giving it the equivalent of 21 tons of TNT in kinetic energy alone, excluding the warhead.[26][27]

## Operators

Russia

* Strategic Rocket Forces – The Strategic Rocket Forces are the only operator of the Avangard HGV. As of December 2023,[28][29] 11 Avangard-equipped UR-100N UTTHs are deployed with:
* 13th Red Banner Rocket Division at Yasny, Orenburg Oblast

## See also

* HGV-202F
* MIRV
* Kh-47M2 Kinzhal
* 3M22 Zircon
* BrahMos-II
* DF-ZF
* Boeing X-51 Waverider
* Prompt Global Strike
* DARPA Falcon Project
* Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle
* Silbervogel
* Tupolev Tu-130

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Первый ракетный полк "Авангарда" заступил на боевое дежурство" (in ru). 27 December 2019. https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/7436431.
2. ↑ "В России запустили серийное производство гиперзвуковой ракеты "Авангард"". https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/5b5048249a79479a995f2d5b.
3. ↑ "Avangard". 27 September 2019. https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/avangard/.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Шахты "Авангарда". Почему гиперзвуковые блоки решили ставить на Урале" (in ru). 18 December 2018. https://ria.ru/20181218/1548145263.html.
5. ↑ "Russian Strategic Missile Forces deploy another Avangard hypersonic missile". https://armyrecognition.com/defense_news_november_2023_global_security_army_industry/russian_strategic_missile_forces_deploy_another_avangard_hypersonic_missile.html.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Борисов: испытания комплекса "Авангард" доказали его способность разгоняться до 27 Махов" (in ru). 27 December 2018. https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/5958896.
7. ↑ "Russia’s 1st regiment of Avangard hypersonic missiles to go on combat alert by year end". https://tass.com/defense/1324415.
8. ↑ Majumdar, Dave (20 March 2018). "We Now Know How Russia's New Avangard Hypersonic Boost-Glide Weapon Will Launch". http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/we-now-know-how-russias-new-avangard-hypersonic-boost-glide-25003.
9. ↑ "Russia to use SS-19 ICBMs as carriers for Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles — source". http://tass.com/defense/995167.
10. ↑ Trevithick, Joseph (March 2018). "Here's The Six Super Weapons Putin Unveiled During Fiery Address". http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/18906/heres-the-six-super-weapons-putin-unveiled-during-fiery-address.
11. ↑ "Russia's New Avangard Hypersonic Missile System To Enter Service By 2019". http://www.defenseworld.net/news/22162#.Wq7Ad0nxJqU.
12. ↑ "Introducing 'Avangard' and 'Sarmat': Putin shows off new hypersonic, nuclear missiles". National Post. 1 March 2018. https://nationalpost.com/news/world/introducing-the-avangard-hypersonic-missile-a-look-inside-putins-new-high-tech-arsenal.
13. ↑ "Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo". https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-installs-one-more-hypersonic-nuclear-missile-ifax-2023-11-16/#:~:text=As it approaches its target,or 34,000 kilometres per hour)..
14. ↑ "Putin named the reason for the development of hypersonic weapons". 19 September 2020. https://tekdeeps.com/putin-named-the-reason-for-the-development-of-hypersonic-weapons-rossiyskaya-gazeta/.
15. ↑ "Hyper-glide Delivery Systems and the Implications for Strategic Stability and Arms Reductions". April 2015. https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=767862.
16. ↑ "Эксперт об "изделии 4202": теперь США будут меньше бряцать оружием". 28 October 2016. https://ria.ru/radio_brief/20161028/1480246498.html.
17. ↑ "Russia begins serial production of new cutting-edge glide vehicle". TASS. http://tass.com/defense/992297.
"Russia's Avangard strategic systems enter series production – source". TASS. http://tass.com/defense/992643.
"Russia's Defense Ministry signs production contract for Avangard hypersonic systems". TASS. http://tass.com/defense/993495.
"Russia's Avangard hypersonic missile system". TASS. http://tass.com/defense/993615.
18. ↑ "New missile Putin mentioned in annual address successfully tested — top brass". TASS. http://tass.com/defense/992383.
19. ↑ "ЦАМТО / Новости / Траектория полета ракеты "Авангард" проходит на высоте десятков километров". http://www.armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2018/0302/103545658/detail.shtml.
20. ↑ "Russia demonstrates Avangard hypersonic missile system to US". 26 November 2019. https://tass.com/defense/1092885.
21. ↑ "Conversation with Gerbert Yefremov". Kremlin.ru. 19 September 2020. http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64058.
22. ↑ Reif, Kingston; Bugos, Shannon (April 2020). "Pentagon Tests Hypersonic Glide Body". Arms Control Association. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-04/news/pentagon-tests-hypersonic-glide-body.
23. ↑ Smith, R. Jeffrey (19 June 2019). "Hypersonic Missiles Are Unstoppable. And They're Starting a New Global Arms Race.". https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/magazine/hypersonic-missiles.html. ""Jack Reed ... told me it might make sense to question the weapons' global impact or talk with Russia about the risks they create, but the priority in Washington right now is to get our versions built.""
24. ↑ "Russia unveils new strategic delivery systems". Jane's Information Group. 2018. https://www.janes.com/images/assets/298/79298/Russia_unveils_new_strategic_delivery_systems.pdf.
25. ↑ "Источник: первыми носителями гиперзвуковых блоков "Авангард" станут ракеты УР-100Н УТТХ" (in ru). 20 March 2018. https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/5047200.
26. ↑ Could Russia's Hypersonic Avangard ICBM Really Travel At 20-Times The Speed Of Sound?
27. ↑ "Kinetic Energy Calculator". https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/physics/kinetic.php.
28. ↑ "Strategic Rocket Forces". russianforces.org. http://russianforces.org/missiles/.
"ЦАМТО / Новости / РВСН получили на вооружение четыре ракетных комплекса "Авангард"". https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2020/1222/133060997/detail.shtml.
"Russian nuclear trifecta modernization level highest in history, defense minister says". https://tass.com/defense/1378715.
"Missile regiment near Orenburg being rearmed with Avangard system — Defense Ministry". https://tass.com/defense/1539059.
"Avangard missiles put on combat duty in Russia's southern Urals". https://tass.com/defense/1551935.
29. ↑ "ЦАМТО / / В Оренбургской области завершены работы по перевооружению очередного полка соединения РВСН на РК «Авангард»" (in ru). 2023-12-18. https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2023/1218/073577021/detail.shtml.

## Further reading

* Andrew Cockburn, "Like a Ball of Fire: Andrew Cockburn on hypersonic weaponry", London Review of Books, vol. 42, no. 5 (5 March 2020), pp. 31–32. "'Welcome to the world of strategic analysis, where we program weapons that don't work to meet threats that don't exist.' This was what Ivan Selin, a senior Pentagon official, used to tell subordinates in the Defence Department in the 1960s." (p. 31.) Cockburn recounts impracticable-weapons projects, including Russia's Avangard "hypersonic glide missile", Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" project, the US's 1951 nuclear-powered-bomber project, and the US's 1950s Dyna-Soar "boost-glide"-weapon project suggested by Walter Dornberger, a favorite of Hitler's who had overseen the V2 rocket program. "[T]he US and Russia have both taken Selin's axiom a step further: they mean to deploy a weapon that doesn't work against a threat that doesn't exist that was in turn developed to counter an equally non-existent threat." (p. 32.)

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