Russians Craft Massive Nuclear Weapon

[Image Courtesy of Makeyev Design]

Russian officials announced a massive new nuclear weapon, and its power is absolutely terrifying.

The RS-28 Sarmat missile can travel 4.3 miles per second and can deliver 40 megatons of power. NATO called the missile Satan 2. The weapon contains the power to destroy area the size of France. It will have 2,000 times more power than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to replace the country's older weaponry with Satan 2 and its 16 nuclear warheads, according to the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau.

[Image Courtesy of Kremiln/Wikimedia]

Some reports say the missile has a range of 6,213 miles (10,000 km). Russia could attack London and other European powers easily from Moscow, and even reach the American west and east coasts.

The Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau said in a statement:

“In accordance with the Decree of the Russian Government 'On the State Defense Order for 2010 and the planning period 2012-2013', the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau was instructed to start design and development work on the Sarmat.

International Tensions Rising

Tensions have been rising between Putin's Russia and Western leaders. UK Prime Minister Theresa May criticized Putin for "undermining the West's efforts" to give a political settlement in Syria. Both Britain and the United States announced on Wednesday that they'll send supplies and troops in a NATO build-up on the Russian border.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stotenberg said the response comes out of necessity.

"This month alone, Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad and suspended a weapons-grade plutonium agreement with the United States," Stoltenberg said.

Other than the Sarmat, the largest bomb ever detonated also belonged to the Russians. The Soviet Union detonated the Tsar Bomba in 1961 at 50 megatons of power.

[Image Courtesy of Public Access/Wikipedia]

Testing of the Sarmat is said to have begun in near Miass in Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry wants to put Sarmat into service by late 2018 and remove the last old SS-18 missile by 2020.

Via Mirror, Reuters

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