'American ICBMs are still a long way from matching Sarmat'

According to RIA Novosti, the US is still a long way from creating a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can rival Russia's Sarmat missile.

The U.S. military plans to completely replace its 450 Minuteman 3 ICBMs, acquired in the 1970s, by 2027.

The total cost of this "overhaul" plan will be approximately $62.3 billion.

In addition, the US Air Force is replacing its AGM-86B air-to-ground strategic cruise missile units, acquired in the 1980s, with a new generation of cruise missiles.

RIA Novosti quoted expert Sivkov, president of the Academy of Political Studies in Moscow, as saying that the US is a long way from creating a new ICBM that can rival Russia's Sarmat missile.

Minuteman 3 ICBM in its launch silo.

According to the Russian expert, Washington mentioned the new type of missile a decade ago, but development has only recently begun at the stage of defining technical specifications. Therefore, Sivkov believes it will take at least another 10 years for the US to create a missile on par with the Sarmat.

Russian experts also speculate that the new US ICBM will use solid fuel, have a range of 12,000 km, and carry 3-10 warheads, capable of striking multiple targets simultaneously with an accuracy of 50 to 100 meters.

Not only does Lenta claim that US ICBMs are 10 years behind Russia, but it also suggests that the US may learn from Russia in developing a replacement missile for the Minuteman 3 ICBM.

According to this source, the Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is the cornerstone of the US's land-based nuclear deterrence capabilities. However, all of the US's ICBMs are deployed from fixed underground launch silos. This makes the ability to keep the launch site secret relatively limited.

Therefore, analyst James Hasik – a senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security – argues that to increase the combat readiness of its nuclear missile forces, the US needs to mobileize them similarly to Russia's mobile ICBMs. Missiles mounted on mobile launchers or on rail would be less expensive than missiles mounted on submarines.

The continuously moving missiles also reduce the risk of nuclear attack because the launch location is constantly changing, ensuring secrecy. Mounting the missiles on mobile launch vehicles is certainly not a difficult task for the US, as even North Korea could do this.

Russia maintains several types of intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from both fixed and mobile silos. Typical examples include the silo-launched R-36 Satan and the mobile RT-2PM2 Topol-M. More recently, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces have put into service the new mobile RS-24 Yars ICBM, capable of carrying up to 10 nuclear warheads.

Mobile ICBMs give Russia the capability to retaliate if a nuclear attack occurs targeting its fixed silos, while also ensuring secrecy in force deployment and concealing launch sites.

According to Baodatviet