RSD-10 Pioneer

RSD-10 Pioneer
SS-20 Saber
RSD-10 Pioneer missile and launcher on display in Vinnytsia
TypeIntermediate-range ballistic missile
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1976 – 1988
Used bySoviet Strategic Rocket Forces
Production history
DesignerAlexander Nadiradze (Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology)
ManufacturerVotkinsk Machine Building Plant
Specifications
Mass37,100 kg (81,800 lb)
Length16.5 m (54 ft)
Diameter1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Warhead1 x 1 Mt or 3 x 150 kt

EngineTwo-stage solid-fuel rocket[1]
Operational
range
5,800 km (3,600 mi)
Maximum speed Up to 7.43 km/s
Guidance
system
Inertial
Accuracy150-450 m CEP
Launch
platform
Road-mobile TEL

The RSD-10 Pioneer (Russian: ракета средней дальности (РСД) «Пионер» tr.: raketa sredney dalnosti (RSD) "Pioner"; English: Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer") was an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead, deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. It carried GRAU designation 15Ж45 (15Zh45). Its NATO reporting name was SS-20 Saber.

Its deployment was a major cause of NATO's 'Double-Track Decision', which led to the deployment of more medium-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe. The RSD-10 was withdrawn from service under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

  1. ^ "RSD-10 Pioneer (SS-20)".