RT-20 (missile)

SS -15 missile at a military parade

The RT-20 (Russian РТ - 20Р ) was a Soviet mobile ICBM from the time of the Cold War. The NATO reporting name of the missile is SS -15 Scrooge and SS -X - 15th The GRAU index 8K99 was.

Description

The RT -20P was the first Soviet mobile ICBM. Initially, it was still unclear to Western experts, if the rocket consists of two or three rocket stages. It turned out that the flight body consists of two stages, the first stage of a solid rocket motor, and the second stage was driven by a liquid-propellant rocket engine. The first stage uses a rotating nozzle. In the development phase of the RT -20P three different starting modifications were provided. The rocket should depending on the version from a silo, will be launched from a truck or armored vehicle, or a mobile rail car from. Ultimately, only the truck or armored variant was realized. Here is the rocket in a transport - launch canister, which had to be placed in a vertical position before starting. The rocket launch container was located on the chassis of a T- YUM - tank. The RT- 20P missile complex was today KB Yuzhnoye developed by the design office for rockets and space equipment OKB -586 Yangel. The work was completed in December 1964. On August 24, 1965, the development has been officially confirmed. For the first time the missile system was presented in November 1965 in Moscow on a military parade. The first flight test took place in October 1967. The first test, which was registered by Western intelligence agencies, was held on 12 February 1968 where it was a failure in this test. A total of nine test launches of the RT -20P were made, with the first successful launch took place only on 7 August 1967. Apparently the program was terminated after the trial period. The RT- 20P missile complex was officially discontinued in October 1969. The system was never included in the active service in the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces. Therefore, the alternative NATO designation SS -X - 15th