The RT-2PM Topol (SS-25 “Sickle”) is an intercontinental-range, road-mobile, solid propellant ballistic missile system. It has a range of over 11,000 km and was based on the preceding Temp-2S and Pioneer road-mobile missiles. 1
Topol (SS-25 “Sickle”) at a Glance
- Originated from
- Russia
- Possessed by
- Russia
- Alternate names
- Sickle, RS-12M, RT-2PM, Topol
- Class
- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
- Basing
- Road-mobile
- Length
- 20.5 m
- Diameter
- 1.6m (first stage), 1.55 m (second stage), 1.34 m (third stage)
- Launch weight
- 45,100 kg
- Payload
- Single warhead, 1,000 kg
- Warhead
- Nuclear, 550 – 800 kT
- Propulsion
- Three-stage solid propellant, post boost vehicle
- Range
- 11,000+ km
- Status
- Operational
- In service
- 1988 – present, undergoing retirement
Topol test launch, n.d. Photo: Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology 
Topol in maintenance bay. Photo: Unknown 
Topol tail section. Photo: Unknown
SS-25 Development
The SS-25 entered development in 1977, with flight tests occurring in between 1983-87. The missile was officially commissioned into service 1988, with 288 missiles deployed at nine sites by 1991. Production is believed to have ceased in 1994, with a total of 450 SS-25 missiles have been built. 2 As of 2013, there were approximately 150 missiles in operational status. 3
Specifications
The SS-25 can deliver a payload of 1,000 kg, with a single warhead, to a range of 11,000 km. 4 The warhead uses a Post-Boost Vehicle (PBV) system, which grants higher accuracy to its single warhead. 5 The system uses a digital computer controlled inertial navigation system which provides an accuracy of 900 m CEP, and is cold-launched from a canister on a wheeled Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle. 6
Service History
The SS-25 is undergoing a phased retirement as part of Russia’s nuclear modernization program. The missile is being replaced by the SS-27 “Topol-M” ICBM. As of 2016, Russia deploys an estimated 90 SS-25 launchers. 7 At its current rate of retirement, SS-25 will likely be completely out of service in the 2022 timeframe.
Footnotes
- Pavel Podvig, ed., Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001), 220.
- “RS-12M Topol” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 90-91.
- National Air and Space Intelligence Center, U.S. Air Force, “Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat,” 2013, http://fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/NASIC2013_050813.pdf
- National Air and Space Intelligence Center, U.S. Air Force, “Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat,” 2013, http://fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/nuclearweapons/NASIC2013_050813.pdf
- “RS-12M Topol” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 90-91.
- Pavel Podvig, ed., Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001), 220.
- Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris (2016) Russian nuclear forces, 2016, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 72:3, 128, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00963402.2016.1170359.