| Avangard Авангард | |
|---|---|
 TheUR-100UTTKh ICBM launched from theDombarovsky 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 | unknown[5] |
Launch platform | ICBM R-36M2, RS-28, UR-100 |
TheAvangard (Russian:Авангард, "Vanguard"; previously known asObjekt 4202,Yu-71 andYu-74) is a Russianhypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). It can be carried as amultiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV)payload ofheavy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), such as theUR-100UTTKh,[6][7]R-36M2 andRS-28 Sarmat. It can deliver bothnuclear andconventional payloads.[8][9][10] The Avangard is reportedly capable of travelling atre-entry speeds (over Mach 27 and close to Mach 30).[11]
The Avangard is one of the sixnew Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian presidentVladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.
According to Vladimir Putin, the US withdrawal from theABM 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".[12] 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".[13]
In October 2016, a flight test was carried out using aR-36M2 heavy ICBM launched from Dombarovsky Air Base, reportedly successfully hitting a target at the Kura Missile Test Range. This was reportedly the first fully successful test of the glide vehicle.[14]
On 1 March 2018, Russian president Vladimir Putin in his presidential address to theFederal Assembly in Moscow announced that testing of the weapon is now complete and that it has entered serial production. This was further confirmed by the commander of theStrategic Rocket Forces,Colonel GeneralSergey Karakayev.[15]
On 19 September 2020,Herbert Yefremov, an Advisor for Science at theNPO Mashinostroyenia, was awarded theOrder of St. Andrew for his contributions to the development ofAvangard.[16]
HGVs differ from traditionalballistic missile warheads by virtue of their ability to maneuver and operate at lower altitudes.[17] The combination of maneuverability and high speed poses significant challenges for conventionalmissile defense.[according to whom?] With the advantage again swinging toward attack,R. Jeffrey Smith speculates that weapons of this type will reignite the kind ofarms race that dominated theCold War era.[18]
According to open-source analysis byJanes Information Services,Avangard is a pure glide vehicle without an independent propulsion system.[19] When approaching a target, the glider supposedly is capable of sharp high speed horizontal and vertical evasive maneuvers in flight.[according to whom?]
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 any explosive warhead.[20]
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.
