RT-2PM Topol / 15Zh58 / SS-25 Sickle

[Deino]

Not sure if correct, but the Chinese "source" where I found them quotes them as a SS-25 ...???

And what are these strange things on top of the missiles fron ?

Deino

 

[flateric]

and source is right)

RT-2PM Topol (Russian: РТ-2ПМ Тополь ("Poplar");
NATO reporting name SS-25 Sickle;
GRAU designation: 15Ж58 ("15Zh58");
other designations: RS-12M Topol

'things' are fairings over nozzles of bus maneuvering system

 

[Deino]

Thanks a lot !

Deino

 

[flateric]

you can imagine what is under fairings looking at similar stuff at SS-20 Saber

 

[Sferrin]

Looks draggy with only one warhead instead of three. You'd think they'd use the other two spots for decoys if nothing else. ???

 

[Trident]

I don't think those photos show the missile in a configuration that's ready for launch. While the warheads were indeed supposed to be exposed, there would normally be an interstage fairing and in the second picture the covers over the bus manoeuvring nozzles have been taken off as well. Most probably the pictures show display hardware in the variant with 3 MIRVs, but with only one of them mounted - a single-warhead version would likely look different.

 

[flateric]

I thought it was clear at the beginning

 

[bobbymike]

Those are great pictures, thanks (I know we are supposed to avoid "thank you" posts) well too bad

 

[flateric]

made back in 1987 Topol was launched today from Plesetsk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBcHPgtOAeM

 

[SOC]

Service life extension test. Apparently they'll stick around until about 2019.

 

[flateric]

I well could be there today, but boss wouldn't like the idea

 

[flateric]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26kxcARLlOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvVjU_CdWk

 

[Trident]

I don't think I'm ever going to tire of watching the Topol launch sequence, still all kinds of cool after seeing what must now amount to hours of footage on it!

 

[Deino]

you can imagine what is under fairings looking at similar stuff at SS-20 Saber

Not sure where these photos were taken .... but found here:

http://top81.jschina.com.cn/top81bbs/thread.php?cid=1&rootid=3659270&id=3659270

Deino

 

[Sferrin]

I don't think I'm ever going to tire of watching the Topol launch sequence, still all kinds of cool after seeing what must now amount to hours of footage on it!

IMO cold-launching in general is pretty cool to watch. B)

 

[Mat Parry]

Not sure where these photos were taken

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Washington DC. I saw that very missile last summer, I was un-prepared to see a Soviet ICBM in the middle of Washington!

 

[blackstar]

Not sure where these photos were taken

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Washington DC. I saw that very missile last summer, I was un-prepared to see a Soviet ICBM in the middle of Washington!

Yeah, that's the main entrance hall. I think it's called the Milestones of Flight Gallery. The missiles have been on display there since at least the mid-1990s.

There is a provision in the treaty that abolished those medium range missiles that allows for a few to be retained for museum display purposes. The two countries exchanged missiles, so there's a Pershing II on display in Russia somewhere. I think that the treaty spells out the locations where these missiles reside, so the geographic coordinates of those missiles in the NASM are included in the treaty somewhere.