BZhRK "Barguzin" railway ICBM

Russia starts creating elements of rail-mobile ballistic missile system — source

The timeframe for the construction of the system will be clarified in 2018

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Russia has started the creation of separate elements of the Barguzin rail-mobile ballistic missile system, a source in the Russian defense industry complex said on Thursday.

"The design documentation has been elaborated, separate elements of the system are being created, but there is no specific timeframe for its completion and making operational," the source said.

According to him, the timeframe will be clarified in 2018.

In 2014, Commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Sergei Karakayev said that by the decision of the president, Russia started the reconstruction of the rail-based ICBM system Barguzin and its front end engineering design has been completed. Russia withdrew railway-based inter-continental ballistic missiles from operation in 2005. Their successor Barguzin, according to Strategic Missile Force expectations, will surpass by far the parameters of its predecessor and remain in active service at least till 2040. The New START Treaty does not prohibit the creation of such weapons.

According to previous reports, one train of Russia's future rail-mobile missile system Barguzin will carry up to six intercontinental ballistic missiles developed on the basis of the Yars ICBM and will be equivalent to a regiment. A Russian defense industry source told TASS that one regiment of the recreated new-generation Barguzin system will be able to carry six Yars or Yars-M intercontinental ballistic missiles. One Barguzin division will comprise five regiments. It was initially planned to put the system into operation in 2019-2020.

In December 2015, a Russian defense source told TASS that due to financial difficulties the Barguzin development works have been postponed for more than a year and will be completed no earlier than 2020.


More:
http://tass.ru/en/defense/875153

Why Russia's Reviving Its Nuke Trains

Russian "Barguzin" strategic missile trains may become an asymmetric response to NATO's complex European Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system deployed in Romania and Poland, military experts believe.

Russian designers have begun to create new elements of "Barguzin" — Russia's combat railway missile complex (BZhRK) aimed at transporting and launching strategic nuclear missiles.

Citing a military source with the knowledge of the matter, Russian Regnum news agency wrote that the project's exact completion date would be announced in early 2018. Back in 2014, Strategic Missile Forces Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev told journalists that the sketches of Russia's future railway-based missile complex had been finalized.

It was reported that the Russian Army may receive five Barguzin railroad ICBM systems by 2020. In late February 2016 the head of the Strategic Missile Forces' military education department, Viktor Nesterov, informed Echo Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) Radio that a new generation of ICBM-launching trains would enter the Army service in 2020.

Russian military experts regard the system as a powerful counterbalance against NATO's European Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system deployed by the United States in Eastern Europe.

On Thursday, the Pentagon military officials inaugurated their missile defense base in Deveselu, Romania. The Deveselu base is one of the first major European elements of the US global missile shield. The cornerstone of the military site is an Aegis Ashore missile defense system equipped with an AN/SPY-1 radar and vertical launchers for 24 Standard SM-3 Block IB missiles.

A similar ground-based Aegis system is currently under construction in Poland. The Polish base is due to become operational in 2018.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed Thursday that the deployment of the elements of the US global missile shield in Europe undoubtedly poses a direct threat to the Russian Federation's security.

"From the very beginning we have said that, according to experts — and we are certain of this, undoubtedly — the deployment of missile defense systems indeed poses a threat to the security of the Russian Federation," Peskov told reporters.

The Pentagon and NATO war planners have been "encircling" Russia since the end of the Cold War seeking to nullify the country's nuclear deterrence capability. However, with Barguzin nuclear trains the threat would be seriously mitigated.

The crux of the matter is that the Russian BZhRK looks similar to any other ordinary cargo train and cannot be detected by an adversary. The elusive nuke complex also moves constantly across the system of the country's railroads. It is worth mentioning that the Russian railways are ranked second longest globally. In general, the combat railway missile complex can pass up to 1,000 kilometers daily.

The first BZhRKs entered the Soviet Army service in 1987 but were completely decommissioned in 2007 in accordance with the START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty between the US and Russia.

However, the modernized BzhRK Barguzin system does not violate the provisions of the New START treaty signed by Moscow and Washington on April 8, 2010, in Prague.

Each Barguzin train will be armed with six ICBMs RS-24 Yars which could be brought into firing position within minutes. Furthermore, Barguzins will be also equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems and a sophisticated stealth technology.

Russian military expert Leonid Nersisyan notes in his article for Regnum, that Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in the early 2000s prompted serious concerns in Moscow and forced Russian military planners to seek new ways to counter potential threats.

The other destabilizing factor is the Pentagon's Prompt Global Strike (PGS) concept, Nersisyan underscores. The US is developing a system that can deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon airstrike at targets throughout the world within one hour using hypersonic weapons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly signaled that Washington's efforts at implementing the European BMD and creating Prompt Global Strike (PGS) weapon systems is dealing a blow to the ongoing talks on nuclear disarmament between the countries.

However, Nersisyan stresses that the Russian BZhRKs will nullify the challenge posed by the US Prompt Global Strike (PGS) concept.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160514/1039617061/barguzin-nuclear-train-russia-nato.html#ixzz48e85mYs5

max steel wrote:Given the finite rail network it's unlikely to be as useful as the Topols in terms of flexibility of firing positions, which can drive on roads to almost any pre-prepared launch position. The saving grace of rail is speed and perhaps the ability to mass a large number of Topols quickly along the rail net.

It would be especially useful in diverting the missile force quickly over the large expanses of Russia/Siberia. Being able to cow Europe /and/ China with the same number of quickly moveable rail-ICBM is more economical than a large Topol force that can't react and move quickly from place to place.

The other possibility is that rail allows a force to be moved into an area and to quickly fire missiles, then scoot, much more so than slower road-mobile topol (which can go off of the railroad net and are better off hiding or creeping around than zipping around as fast as possible).

The third possibility is that rail allows a rail-ICBM force to move forward from safe rear areas after the threat is clear, fire the missiles and retreat.


Topol usage is probably going to be roving and based on pre-selected, well-concealed sites. The trains will have to disperse and be prepared to rapidly move to a desired target area on short notice (or to egress quickly if the bombers are coming).

If the missile force is kept east of the Ural mountains, it makes it a little trickier to find. There is more area, but far less civilian traffic. Trains running at high speed during wartime will stick out. West of the Urals with more civilian traffic, bombing all the trains is unlikely to be received well.

Russia is big, and this is an advantage that is conferred on their road and rail network. Lots of area to hunt is not going to be fun for countering either the Topol or their Molodets replacement.

Actually Russia's road network is more limited than its railway system.   No Topol launcher can travel as fast as a train.   And most importantly,
it does not make any difference if Russian ICBMs are launched from a subset of its territory or the whole thing.   The only issue is if it is easier
for the rail systems to be destroyed by a US first strike compared to road systems.   The rail systems are much harder to kill compared to silos
and really are in a different class along with the road systems.    A single "stealthed" train can carry several ICBMs and can't be distinguished
from any other train.   A mobile road launcher can carry one only and can be tracked from satellites.

The US will not be able to target the whole Russian railway system.   It does not have enough missiles and warheads.   It's a fool's errand in any
case.    

It's nice to see Podvig squirming.  That 5th column kreakl dirtbag wishes for Russia to fail and for Uncle Scam to succeed.   He should bugger
on off to his promised land.

Glad 90's are over and his knowledge/contribution is outdated and no longer useful.

The smaller missiles mean the carriages can be standard rather than special designs.

Think of the new system as being the equivalent of TOPOL on a standard truck with a standard shipping container on its trailer... or a ship with standard shipping crates... we are talking needle in a haystack of needles...

The simplest and fastest way to get an IRBM into service is to take a three stage ICBM and remove one stage... depending on the ICBM and the range required it could be the first or second stage that is removed.

It would not take much to get a 2,000km range from Iskander... missile technology has improved quite a bit since Scud.

Weight 20 to 50 Ton , up to 80 Ton max

So weight between 20 ton and 80 ton.... so really they have no idea...

Test of Barguzin rail-mobile ICBM reported

Russia appears to have conducted the first test of the Barguzin rail-mobile missile in Plesetsk some time in the last week. The first report about the test appeared in a somewhat dubious publication (via Military.ru), it was largely confirmed by a number of other sources. There is no official confirmation, though.

It appears to be an "ejection test," which tested the mechanism of the missile leaving its launch container (presumably mounted on a rail car, although it is not clear if this test involved an actual rail car). It is still rather far from a working missile, but it's a step in that direction.

The Barguzin program has a difficult history. It was given a green light in 2014, but then was reported to be suspended. The industry pressed on with "elements of the system" and indeed Yuri Solomonov, the Chief Designer of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT) promised back in May that the first ejection test will take place "in the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2016."

This wold be somewhat unusual, but hardly unprecedented for the industry to continue with the development even if the prospect for the ministry of defense's ordering the system are quite uncertain. MITT probably counts on getting an order after all.

UPDATE 11/04/2016: An anonymous "knowledgeable" source told Interfax that there was no launch from Plesetsk in the past few days. However, the source did confirm that the ejection test will take place before the end of the year.

http://russianforces.org/blog/2016/11/test_of_barguzin_rail-mobile_i.shtml

Spot Me If You Can: Russia's Brand New Nuke Train to Be Undetectable

A Russian-made intercontinental ballistic missile outfitted onto the advanced Barguzin rail-based strategic missile complex has successfully passed a pop-up launch test for the first time. Defense analyst Victor Murakhovsky told Radio Sputnik that this unique system is virtually undetectable.

Murakhovsky mentioned that some have referred to the new complex, which carries up to six RS-24 Yars missiles, as "a sheer nightmare" for foreign intelligence services.

"I would agree with this since there are no attributes which could be used to detect this rail-based missile complex," he said. "There is a new launching platform and a new combat control system which uses protected digital communication channels. There are new input programs for missions," he detailed.

The testing took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome approximately two weeks ago in early November. It paves the way for full-scale flight development tests.

"Pop-up launch tests are conducted to determine whether the complex is operational. The missile and the transporter-launcher container were developed some time ago, but the launching platform is a novel solution. The trials are meant to test its performance," the analyst explained.

The work on the Barguzin is proceeding according to plan, he added. The system is expected to be developed by 2018.

The Barguzin will be a major upgrade compared to the rail-based strategic missile complexes developed in the Soviet Union. They were removed from operational use in 2005.

"Soviet-era platforms employed railway cars, different in size from standard rail carriages. The new missile complex fits onto standard rail gauge. The wagons carrying [the recently tested] missiles resemble a freight refrigerator car for instance," he explained.

Murakhovsky also said that the new system is second to none in the world.
"The United States was working on a similar program during the Cold War," he said. "There was an idea to lay rail tracks underground and place launching platforms there. Financing was wasted and they did not create anything even remotely resembling the Russian system."

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/201611231047745620-russia-yars-barguzin/

Russia to Conduct Flight Tests of Missile for 'Nuclear Train' in 2019

https://sputniknews.com/russia/201701191049778679-russia-nuclear-missile-test/

For those unbelievers... just for a moment think of a track that is a simple circle 1,000km across. At every 20km around that circle you can have a separate track that leads off the main track and turns out to 90 degrees from the main circle track that goes down into a ditch so there is dirt wall on all four sides of the train going into the siding... in other words every 20km along this 1,000km circle of track there is a completely safe place to park a train... even a nearby nuclear blast will not damage a train in such a rivetment as the blast wave will simply just pass over top... you could even make them deep enough to have a roof so no debris hits the train.

This means to destroy 50 trains you need 50 warheads and the known location of the 50 trains carrying the nuclear weapons.

If there are 1,000 trains on or near that track and they all look the same...

The actual case is rather worse than this as we are not talking about a 1,000km circle of track with regular side tracks... out in siberia there are lots of places to put a train aside the main track simply so trains going in different directions can pass one another... there are tunnels too and plenty of traffic in each direction.

More importantly you could fit the ICBM train with a couple of carriages carrying S-500 and S-400 if you wanted to...

If you tie the system in to the local OTH radar network and set up a few S-400 and S-500 systems around the place you could use semi static systems for the initial target detection, ID, and tracking and then use missiles on the trains themselves to destroy the incoming threats.

Obviously it would be easier to intercept an incoming missile warhead if you are launching the interceptor directly from the item being targeted and if you can make the S-500 missile carriages look the same as the other carriages then all the better.

In fact even fitting TOR missiles and using them against any conventional attempt to attack the trains... say a B-2 raid or whatever... especially as they could be directed at ground targets attempting a raid on the train too.

The development of combat new-generation railway complexes has been discontinued

According to Sergei Ptichkin in the material published in the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", the development of combat railway complexes (BZHRK) of a new generation for the R & D "Barguzin" has been discontinued. "The topic is closed, in any case, for the near future, said a very informed representative of the Russian defense-industrial complex."

In the material it is reported that "Barguzin's experimental design work has been carried out." The experiment with the launch was successful, and if urgent, our missile train will quickly become on the rails.

The bmpd comment. Work on the new-generation combat-railway complex with an intercontinental ballistic missile for BKR "Barguzin" is conducted under the leading role of JSC "Corporation" Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering "(MIT) from 2011 as part of the State Armaments Program for 2011-2020 (GPV 2020) , with the initial deadline for completing the State Test in 2019. At the end of 2014 the sketch design of the complex was approved and in 2015 the development of design documentation was started. At the end of October 2016 in Plesetsk, the first and only missile test of the missile of the complex was made.

According to available information, with the correction of the GPO 2020 in 2015, the main stages of the Barguzin R & D project were transferred beyond the scope of the GPO 2020 and were to be determined by the new State Arms Program for 2016-2025 (now 2018-2027). If the message of S. Ptichkin is true, then, apparently, the ROC "Barguzin" was not eventually included in the new GPV-2027.

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/2983189.html