What is the Sarmat ICBM 'world’s most powerful nuclear missile'? Russia claims new missile can bypass all defence systems
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "What is the Sarmat ICBM 'world’s most powerful nuclear missile'? Russia claims new missile can bypass all defence systems")
This video grab taken from a handout footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on May 12, 2026, shows the test launch of the Sarmat heavy liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. Photograph: (AFP/ Russian Defence Ministry)
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful test of the Sarmat ICBM, claiming it is the world’s most powerful nuclear missile capable of carrying multiple warheads across intercontinental ranges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that it had test-fired a new strategic nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Russian President has claimed that the new ICBM was the world's “most powerful” missile that can deliver nuclear warheads until the United States. Putin said that the missile will be in service by the end of 2026. After severe setbacks since its initiation in 2018, including a failed launch in February 2023 and a deadly silo explosion in 2024, it is now it is ready to be inducted into the service. Russia’s strategic missile forces commander Sergei Karakayev confirmed it as a successful launch on Tuesday.
What is the Sarmat ICBM?
The Sarmat ICBM is the central pillar of Moscow's nuclear modernisation strategy. It is a super-heavy, liquid-fuelled ICBM and can deliver 10 heavy or 16 lighter Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV). It can carry 10 tonnes of nuclear payload and can achieve a top speed of Mach 12. The Sarmat ICBM has a standard range of 18000 km, though Russian officials claimed that its suborbital and Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) trajectories allow it to exceed 35,000 km.
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Why is Putin calling Sarmat the world's “most powerful missile”?
Russian President Vladimir Putin said to the state media, “This is the most powerful missile in the world,” adding that it was capable of suborbital flight and was more than four times greater than any Western equivalent.
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"The deployment of launchers equipped with the Sarmat missile system will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the ground-based strategic nuclear forces in terms of guaranteeing the destruction of targets and solving strategic deterrence problems," said Sergei Karakayev.
"It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems," said Putin. NATO called the missile “SATAN-II", but Western security analysts remain sceptical and call Putin's modernisation programme an exaggeration. Putin said that the Sarmat is meant to replace about 40 Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. This development comes as the last remaining treaty, START, to restrict the development of strategic nuclear warheads, expired in February, 2026.
