December
12, 2006: Three more Russian Topol-M (SS-27) ICBMs are entering service this
month. That will mean 48 (of, eventually, up to a hundred) Topol-Ms in service
by the end of the year. One of the Topol-Ms being delivered is a mobile model,
which is carried in a special railroad car, and moved around to avoid
destruction by an enemy surprise missile attack. More mobile Topol-Ms will be
delivered next year. Some of the older Topol (SS-25) missiles are already
serving in the mobile mode.
The
Topol-M is an upgraded Topol. Both are comparable to the American
Minuteman III, and both carry only one warhead, although they could carry as
many as six warheads per missile. The 45 ton SS-25 entered service in 1985, and
was so successful (meaning reliable, partly because it used solid fuel), that
work began on an upgrade. This became the 52 ton Topol-M. All other Russian
ICBMs suffered reliability problems and were more expensive to maintain,
largely because of liquid fuel rocket engines and cranky electronics.
