The MR-UR-100 Sotka was a
MIRV
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with i ...
-warhead
intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
from 1978 to 1993. The missile was given the
NATO reporting name SS-17 Spanker and was built under the Soviet industry designation 15A15. An alternative designation for the missile is the UR-100MR.
Development
OKB-586 developed the MR-UR-100 project. The purpose was to develop a
MIRV
A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with i ...
capable replacement for the existing
UR-100
The UR-100 (russian: УР-100) was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1996. UR () in its designation stood for Universal Rocket (russian: links=no, Универсальная Р ...
missiles in service. While designed to fit into existing
UR-100
The UR-100 (russian: УР-100) was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1996. UR () in its designation stood for Universal Rocket (russian: links=no, Универсальная Р ...
silos, it still required some modification of existing silos to accommodate the new missile, due to its requirement for a
cold launch system.
The development of "modernized
UR-100
The UR-100 (russian: УР-100) was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1996. UR () in its designation stood for Universal Rocket (russian: links=no, Универсальная Р ...
" was authorized on 19 August 1970 (document No.682-218) and assigned to both
OKB-586 and TsKBM (builder of
UR-100
The UR-100 (russian: УР-100) was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1966 to 1996. UR () in its designation stood for Universal Rocket (russian: links=no, Универсальная Р ...
). The design bureau conducted flight tests from 1971 through 1974. Deployment commenced in December 1978. The more advanced MR-UR-100UTTh version began development in 1979, with flight tests from 1977 through 1979. The new missiles had completely replaced the original version by 1983, at which time the Soviets fielded 270 launchers. From there the number of launchers declined, and by the 1991
START I Treaty they were down to 76. All were scheduled for dismantling and removed from the inventory.
In fiction
In the historical fiction novel
''The Third World War'', written by
General Sir John Hackett, a warhead from a MR-UR-100 detonates 3500m above
Birmingham, England
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
at 10:30 hours GMT on 20 August 1985. The explosion kills 300,000 people within minutes, with a further 250,000 likely to die in the aftermath.
[''The Third World War'', General Sir John Hackett, Sphere Books, 1978, p371]
Operator
; : The
Strategic Rocket Forces
The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Фед ...
were the only operators of the Sotka.
See also
*
List of missiles
Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose.
Other missile lists
Types of missiles:
* Conventional guided missiles
** Air-to-air missile
** Air-to-surface missile
** Anti-rad ...
*
List of rockets
There are several different types of rockets. The following articles contain lists of rockets by type:
* List of missiles
* List of orbital launch systems
* List of sounding rockets
* List of military rockets
* List of rocket stages
See also
* C ...
References
External links
15A15
MR-UR-100
The MR-UR-100 Sotka was a MIRV-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1978 to 1993. The missile was given the NATO reporting name SS-17 Spanker and was built under the Soviet industry desig ...
Cold War intercontinental ballistic missiles of the Soviet Union
MR-UR-100
The MR-UR-100 Sotka was a MIRV-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed and deployed by the Soviet Union from 1978 to 1993. The missile was given the NATO reporting name SS-17 Spanker and was built under the Soviet industry desig ...
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s
{{Russia-mil-stub