| RS-26 Rubezh | |
|---|---|
| Type | Intercontinental ballistic missile |
| Place of origin | Russia |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Russian Strategic Missile Troops |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology |
| Produced | 2011 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 36,000 kilograms (80,000 lb) |
| Warhead | 4x each 150/300 Kt MIRV |
| Engine | Solid-fueled (last stage or warhead block can have liquid) |
| Propellant | solid, third or fourth stage (warhead block) can be liquid |
Operational range | 5800 km demonstrated [1] |
| Flight altitude | Several tens of km |
| Maximum speed | over Mach 20 (24,500 km/h; 15,200 mph; 6.81 km/s) |
Guidance system | Inertial with GLONASS |
| Accuracy | 90-250 m CEP[citation needed] |
Launch platform | Road-mobile TEL |
The RS-26 Rubezh (in Russian: РС-26 Рубеж) (frontier or boundary, also known under the name of its R&D program Avangard Авангард) SS-X-31 or SS-X-29B (another version of SS-27),[2] is a Russian solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, equipped with a thermonuclear MIRV or MaRV payload. The missile is also intended to be capable of carrying the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. The RS-26 is based on RS-24 Yars, and constitutes a shorter version of the RS-24 with one fewer stages.[3][4] The development process of the RS-26 has been largely comparable to that of the RSD-10 Pioneer, a shortened derivative of the RT-21 Temp 2S. Deployment of the RS-26 is speculated to have a similar strategic impact as the RSD-10.[5]
After an initial failure in 2011, it was first test-launched successfully from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on May 26, 2012,[6][7] hitting its target at the Kura Range 5,800 km away minutes later. Further successful tests were performed from Kapustin Yar to Sary Shagan in 2012[8][9] and 2013.[10] In 2018, however, it was reported that development of the RS-26 had been frozen until at least 2027, with funding diverted toward continued development of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.[11]