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What is Putin's Sarmat missile that will make Russia's 'enemies think twice'?
Pentagon dismissed the test-launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile as any threat and said Moscow had properly notified before.
Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Russia has successfully tested the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile which is the world's most powerful missile that is believed to be capable of penetrating any missile defence. It is colloquially known as Satan.
The successful test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is a big and significant event for Russia's defence, Putin said adding that this will make Russia's enemies think twice.
Here is everything you need to know about Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile
1. The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, about 800 km north of Moscow, in the northern Arkhangelsk region, the defence ministry said.
2. In the first test launch, the missile hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east of Russia, nearly 6,000km(3,700 miles) away.
3. The missile weighs more than 200 tonnes and is able to transport multiple warheads, more than 10, it is believed.
4. According to Russian media, Sarmat is a three-stage, liquid-fueled missile with a range of 18,000 km and a launch weight of 208.1 metric tons, to be exact. The missile is 35.3 meters long and 3 meters in diameter.
5. Apart from 10 large warheads, it can carry 16 smaller ones, a combination of warheads and countermeasures, or hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, it is believed.
6. The missile was being developed for years and the test does not come across as a surprise to western countries.
7. Pentagon said the test is routine and not a threat to the US and its allies. Moscow had properly notified the United States before the test launch of Sarmat, the Pentagon said. US postponed its test of Minuteman III ICBM on March 2 to avoid escalating tensions with Russia, it said.
8. Russia's nuclear forces will start taking delivery of the new missile "in the autumn of this year" once testing is complete, reports said.
