SS-18 SATAN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE
The R-36 (Russian: Р-36) is a family of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and space launch vehicles designed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The original R-36 was deployed under the GRAU index 8K67 and was given the NATO reporting name SS-9 Scarp. It was able to carry three warheads and was the first Soviet MIRV (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle) missile. The later version, the R-36M was produced under the GRAU designations 15A14 and 15A18 and was given the NATO reporting name SS-18 Satan. This missile was viewed by certain U.S. analysts as giving the Soviet Union first strike advantage over the U.S., particularly because of its very heavy throw weight and extremely large number of re-entry vehicles. Some versions of the R-36M were deployed with 10 warheads and up to 40 penetration aids and the missile's high throw-weight made it theoretically capable of carrying more warheads or penetration aids. Contemporary U.S. missiles, such as the Minuteman III, carried up to three warheads at most. Russia intends to replace the R-36 with a new heavy ICBM, the Sarmat. The flight tests of the R-36M2 missile carrying a single warhead (SS-18 Mod 6) with a yield of 20 Mt were completed in September 1989 and deployment began in August 1991. Ten Mod 6 missiles were deployed. One intended use of these large warheads was high altitude detonation to incapacitate electronics and communications through a very large electromagnetic pulse. NATO reported that SS-18 SATAN is most powerful ICBM on earth, and Russia got about 3000 silos with these warheads ready to launch.
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