Russia's Firing Of ICBM On Ukraine Is Weapon's 1st Combat Use In History
ICBMs have a range of over 5,500 kilometres.New Delhi:
Russia reportedly launched an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Ukraine, marking the first combat use of the weapon since its inception almost six decades ago. Moreover, Moscow used the Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) technology to target "critical infrastructure" in Ukraine's Dnipro, the first-ever use of the technology too.
ICBMs have a range of over 5,500 kilometres and are built to carry nuclear, chemical and biological warheads. It can also carry a conventional warhead, which Russia reportedly used on the RS-26 Rubezh, ballistic missile. The missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of Russia, over 1,000 km away from the damage site in Ukraine.
Videos have surfaced on social media and Telegram handles, where at least warheads re-entering and targeting infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia has "denied to comment" on the launch of ICBMs though Kyiv has confirmed its use.
The launch comes just a day after Putin signed off on changes to the nuclear doctrine. The changes in the doctrine say that an attack from a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear state will be viewed by Russia as a joint attack on it. Recently, the US has allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia.
ICBM And The MIRV Tech
Rubezh is a solid-fueled ICBM equipped with MIRV technology. It was developed in 2011 and was successfully tested for the first time in 2012, hitting a target 5,800 km away from the launch site.
Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fuelled immediately after launch and are often easier to operate. It's a mixture of fuel and an oxidizer that are bound together by a hard rubbery material and packed in a metal casing.
When solid-propellant in RS-26 burns, the oxygen from the fuel element generates enormous energy, creating thrust and helping in lif-off.
A ballistic missile follows a parabolic trajectory with a boost, mid-course and terminal stage. The highest point where the missile reaches is called apogee and for ICBMs, it is over 4,000 km. During atmospheric re-entry or terminal stage, kinetic energy coupled with the missile's speed reaches over Mach 10, making interception of the missile difficult.