View source for RT-23 Molodets

{{Infobox weapon
|is_missile=yes
|name= RT-23 Molodets
| image = File:RT-23_ICBM_complex_in_Saint_Petersburg_museum.jpg
| image_size = 250
|caption = BZhRK three-car autonomous launching module
|origin= [[USSR]]
|type= [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBM]]
|used_by=[[Strategic Rocket Forces]]
|manufacturer=[[Yuzhnoye Design Bureau]]
|unit_cost=
|propellant= [[Solid-propellant rocket|Solid fuel]]
|production_date=
|service= 1987–2005<ref name="rg"/>
|engine= First stage: ''15D305'',<ref name="engines_1"/> <br> Second stage: ''15D339''<ref name="engines_1">{{cite web |url=http://www.b14643.de/Spacerockets/Specials/RT-Missiles/index.htm|title=Some important Soviet solid fuel missiles |publisher=b14643.de|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>
|engine_power= ''15D305'': 3,040 [[Newton (unit)#Kilonewtons|kN]],<ref name="engine_339">{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/1/15d339.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228153000/http://astronautix.com/1/15d339.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 December 2016|title=15D339|publisher=astronautix.com|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref> <br>''15D339'': 1,470 kN<ref name="engine_305">{{cite web |url=http://www.astronautix.com/1/15d305.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228010558/http://astronautix.com/1/15d305.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 December 2016|title=15D305|publisher=astronautix.com|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>
|weight= {{convert|104500|kg|abbr=on}}
|length= {{convert|23400|mm|abbr=on}}
|height=
|diameter= {{convert|2410|mm|abbr=on}}
|wingspan=
|speed=
|vehicle_range= {{convert|10000-11000|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/>
|ceiling=
|altitude=
|filling= 10 × 550 [[TNT equivalent#Kiloton and megaton|kt]] [[MIRV]]s<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/>
|guidance= [[Inertial navigation system|Inertial]], [[Missile guidance#GOLIS systems|autonomous]]
|detonation=
|launch_platform= [[Railcar]] [[Transporter erector launcher|TEL]] or [[Missile launch facility|silo]]
|accuracy= 150–500&nbsp;m<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/>
}}

The '''RT-23 Molodets''' ({{langx|ru|РТ-23 УТТХ<ref>"UTTKh" or "UTTH", i.e. "Improved tactical and technical characteristics".</ref> «Мо́лодец»}}, lit. "brave man" or "fine fellow"; [[NATO reporting name]]: '''SS-24 Scalpel''') was a [[cold launch|cold-launched]], [[Multistage rocket|three-stage]], [[Solid-fuel rocket|solid-fueled]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] developed and produced before 1991 by the [[Yuzhnoye Design Bureau]] in [[Dnipro]], [[Ukraine]] (ex-[[Soviet Union]].)<ref name="Dnipro">{{cite web |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Inside-Soviet-ICBM-Silo-180968988/ |title=Inside a Soviet ICBM Silo|publisher=[[Air & Space/Smithsonian]] |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref> It came in [[missile silo|silo]]- and [[Railcar-launched ICBM|rail]]-based variants, and was armed with 10 [[MIRV]] warheads ([[GRAU]] index: ''15Ф444'')<ref name="bastion">{{cite web |url=http://bastion-opk.ru/bgrk-molodec/ |title=Боевой Железнодорожный Ракетный Комплекс (БЖРК)|publisher=bastion-opk.ru |access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> of 550 [[kiloton|kt]] yield.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> All missiles were decommissioned by 2005 in accordance with the [[START II]].<ref name="rg">{{cite web |url=https://rg.ru/2017/12/02/razrabotka-boevyh-zheleznodorozhnyh-kompleksov-novogo-pokoleniia-prekrashchena.html|title=Ракеты на рельсы не встанут |publisher=rg.ru |date=2 December 2017 |access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref>

==History==

[[File:Боевой_железнодорожный_ракетный_комплекс_БЖРК_15П961_Молодец_(21).jpg|thumb|left|150px|The overhead line short-circuiting and diverting mechanism]]
[[File:Боевой_железнодорожный_ракетный_комплекс_БЖРК_15П961_Молодец_(12).jpg|thumb|left|150px|Railcar [[outriggers]], deployed before launch]]

The missile and rail-based missile complex – or [[:ru:Боевой железнодорожный ракетный комплекс|''BZhRK'']] ({{langx|ru|БЖРК, Боевой Железнодорожный Ракетный Комплекс}}, lit. "''Combat Rail-based Missile Complex''") – were developed by the brothers [[Vladimir Utkin|Vladimir]] and [[:ru:Уткин, Алексей Фёдорович|Alexei Utkin]] as chief engineers in [[Yuzhnoye Design Bureau]] and [[Design Bureau for Special Machine-Building]] respectively.<ref name="ria_1"/> It was the culmination of a major Soviet effort to develop a [[Solid-propellant rocket|solid-propellant]] ICBM with multiple basing modes which was initiated in 1969.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> As addition to the silo- and rail-based versions, a [[Transporter erector launcher|road-mobile]] version was considered but eventually rejected.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> The new missile was to replace the older [[Liquid-propellant rocket|liquid-fueled]] [[UR-100N]] which were entirely silo-based.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> Its [[United States]] counterpart was the [[Peacekeeper Rail Garrison]], which was never deployed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197554/peacekeeper-rail-garrison-car/ |title=Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Car |publisher=af.mil |date=10 April 2015|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>

The missile was tested through the 1980s and was deployed in 1987.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> A typical ''BZhRK'' consisted of three modified [[M62 locomotive|M62-class]] [[locomotive]]s (designated ''DM62''; were not different in appearance)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prolokomotiv.ru/teplovoz-modeli-m62-i-ego-modifikacii.html|title=Тепловоз М62 |publisher=prolokomotiv.ru |access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> and seventeen railcars: a camouflaged [[tank car|tank]] with [[diesel fuel]] and [[lubricants]] reserve, three 3-car autonomous launching modules (a launch support systems car, a car with an erectable RT-23 launcher and a launcher [[Missile launch control center|command post]] car), a [[regiment]] command post car, a [[communications system]]s car, a main [[diesel generator]] car, a provision storage car with [[refrigerator]]s and water tanks, a [[dining car]], and two separate living compartment cars for [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] and [[Enlisted rank|enlisted personnel]]. All the railcars were camouflaged as either [[refrigerated van]]s or [[Passenger car (rail)|passenger cars]].<ref name="rg_2">{{cite web |url=https://rg.ru/2019/10/20/nevidimka-so-skalpelem-pochemu-ssha-boialis-raketnyh-poezdov-sssr.html|title=Невидимка со "Скальпелем": почему США боялись ракетных поездов СССР |date=20 October 2019 |publisher=rg.ru |access-date=6 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="bastion"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://habr.com/ru/post/88529/|title=Боевой железнодорожный ракетный комплекс "Молодец"|publisher=[[Habr]]|date=23 March 2010 |access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="rzd-partner">{{cite web |url=http://spec.rzd-partner.ru/page2147611.html|title=Грозные "Молодцы" |publisher=rzd-partner.ru |access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> The lead locomotive was driven by three [[Russian Railway Troops|Railway Troops]] officers with good knowledge of a patrolling route, while the two others were operated by enlisted personnel.<ref name="rzd-partner"/> The [[train]] was able to cruise at speed of {{convert|80-120|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}<ref name="bastion"/><ref name="rg_2"/> and launch the missiles at any point of the route<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> on any Soviet rail line, which was made possible by implementation of the special mechanism for [[Short circuit|short-circuiting]] and diverting the [[overhead line]] ({{langx|ru|ЗОКС}}).<ref name="bastion"/><ref name="technerium">{{cite web |url=https://technerium.ru/en/yadernyi-poezd-prizrak-boevoi-zheleznodorozhnyi-raketnyi-kompleks/|title=Nuclear train ghost. Barguzin combat railway missile system|publisher=technerium.ru|date=20 October 2019|access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref> Shortly after ejection by the powder pressure accumulator, at a height of 20–30 m, the missile would incline itself, so that the first-stage exhaust would not damage or overturn the railcar launcher, and then [[Rocket engine#Ignition|ignite]] the first-stage [[Rocket engine|engine]].<ref name="bastion"/> The rail-based missile incorporated an inflatable [[nose cone]] as a means of length reduction for accommodation in a refrigerator car,<ref name="technerium"/> while the silo-based variant was equipped with a more robust folding nose cone, since it was expected to be operated in a much harsher [[First strike (nuclear strategy)|preemptive nuclear strike]] environment.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/><ref name="bastion_2">{{cite web |url=https://habr.com/ru/post/88529/|title=Ракетный комплекс 15П060 с МБР РТ-23УТТХ (15Ж60) "Молодец"|date=7 December 2019|access-date=7 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://military.wikireading.ru/91052|title=Стратегический "Молодец". История железнодорожных ракетных комплексов|access-date=7 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> In order to prevent damage to the [[Track (rail transport)|railroad tracks]] caused by high weight of the launching car with a missile (>200 tons),<ref name="bastion"/> the special three-car coupling system was developed for the launching modules, allowing for even weight distribution between neighboring cars.<ref name="technerium"/><ref name="ria_1">{{cite web |url=https://ria.ru/20170828/1501204310.html|title=Поезд-призрак особого назначения. Чем опасен ракетный комплекс "Баргузин"|publisher=[[RIA Novosti|RIA]]|date=8 November 2019|access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> The missile train was able to function autonomously for up to 28 days.<ref name="ria_1"/>

In order to evaluate [[Effects of nuclear explosions|effects]] of a nearby [[nuclear explosion]] on the missile complex, on 27 February 1991, in [[Plesetsk]], the "Sdvig" ({{langx|ru|Сдвиг}}, lit. "[[Shift (disambiguation)|Shift]]") experiment was conducted, upon which a pile of 100,000 [[TM-57 mine|TM-57]] [[anti-tank mine]]s was detonated with the yield of 1,000 tons of [[TNT]] at a distance of 850 and 450 meters from the two separate groups of railcar launching and command modules. The experiment showed that, despite moderate damage to the railcars, the complexes were still able to conduct simulated missile launches (the computer system of one of them required a reboot). The level of [[acoustic pressure]] in the command modules, however, "exceeded 150 [[Decibel|dB]]" and "would have resulted in a 20-minutes [[hearing loss]]" for the personnel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rvsn.info/history/hist_sdvig_1991.html|title=РВСН в операции (испытании) «Сдвиг» (1991 г.)|publisher=rvsn.info|access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://rg.ru/2014/03/14/poezd-site.html|title=Как устроен ракетный поезд|publisher=rg.ru|date=14 March 2014|access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> Prior to that, in 1988, at [[Semipalatinsk Test Site]], the rail-based complex took part in the "Siyanie" ({{langx|ru|Сияние}}, lit. "Shining") and "Groza" ({{langx|ru|Гроза}}, lit. "Thunderstorm") experiments, meant to evaluate its [[Electromagnetic pulse|EMP]] and [[lightning]] protection effectiveness.<ref name="bastion"/>

According to [[United States Department of Defense|US Defense Department]], as of September 1991, production of the RT-23 had ended with approximately 90 missiles deployed.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> Its production facilities were located in [[Ukraine]], and after the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the production of the missile was halted.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> The 46 silo-based missiles located in Ukraine were deactivated by mid-1996 and put into storage awaiting a decision on a feasible disposal method, while their warheads were sent to [[Russia]] for dismantlement.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> In 1998–2001, all Ukrainian RT-23 missiles were dismantled and 45 out of 46 RT-23 silos exploded, with one of them left intact for [[Strategic missile forces museum in Ukraine|exhibition]] purposes.<ref name="rbase">{{cite web |url=http://rbase.new-factoria.ru/missile/wobb/15g60/15g60.shtml|title=Ракетный комплекс 15П960 Молодец с МБР 15Ж60 (РТ-23 УТТХ)|publisher=rbase.new-factoria.ru|access-date=5 December 2019|language=ru}}</ref> A total of 46 missiles remained in service by April 1997 with the [[Strategic Missile Forces]] (10 silo- and 36 rail-based).<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/> The remaining 10 silo-based missiles in Russia were deactivated and sent for dismantlement in 2001, and their silos were modified for [[RT-2PM2 Topol-M|Topol-M]] complexes.<ref name="rbase"/> After 2000, the rail-based missiles were also gradually withdrawn from service, with the remaining 15 decommissioned in August 2005. In that same year, [[Nikolay Solovtsov]], then commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, officially announced retirement of the RT-23 rail-based complex.<ref name="rg"/> The last RT-23 ICBM in Russia was eliminated in April 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.russiamatters.org/facts/cooperative-threat-reduction-timeline |title=Cooperative Threat Reduction Timeline |publisher=russiamatters.org |access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>

Its successor, [[BZhRK Barguzin]], was reportedly under development for the [[Strategic Missile Forces|Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN)]], but in 2017 it was announced the project had been frozen due to insufficient funding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rg.ru/2017/12/02/razrabotka-boevyh-zheleznodorozhnyh-kompleksov-novogo-pokoleniia-prekrashchena.html |title=Разработка боевых железнодорожных комплексов нового поколения прекращена |last=Птичкин |first=Сергей |date=2 December 2017 |website=rg.ru |publisher=Российская газета |access-date=2 December 2017|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://warisboring.com/say-goodbye-to-russias-nuclear-armed-doomsday-train/ |title=Say Goodbye to Russia's Nuclear-Armed Doomsday Train |last=Beckhusen |first=Robert |date=6 December 2017 |website=warisboring.com |publisher=War Is Boring |access-date=10 December 2017}}</ref>

==Versions==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ class="nowrap" | RT-23 versions comparison<ref name="RT-23 FAS">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/icbm/rt-23.htm |title=RT-23 / SS-24 SCALPEL|publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |date=29 July 2000 |access-date=5 December 2019}}</ref>
|
| {{rh2}} | Service
|colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | RT-23 || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | RT-23 UTTKh
|-
| {{rh2}} | [[GRAU]]
| 15Zh44 || 15Zh52 || 15Zh60 || 15Zh61
|-
| {{rh2}} | DIA
| SS-24 PL-04 (R&D index) || SS-24 Mod 0 || SS-24 Mod 2 || SS-24 Mod 1
|-
| {{rh2}} | Bilateral
| || RS-22B || RS-22A || RS-22V
|-
| {{rh2}} | Design bureau
|colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | SKB-586, NPO Yuzhynoy Acad. V. F. Utkin
|-
| {{rh2}} | Approved
| 23 July 1976 || 1 June 1979 || 9 August 1983 || 9 August 1983
|-
| {{rh2}} | Years of R&D
|January 1969 – March 1977 || November 1982 – 1987 || 1983–1989 || 1983–1989
|-
| {{rh2}} | First flight test
| 26 October 1982, failure; <br/>December 1982, success || April 1984 || 31 July 1986 || 27 February 1985
|-
| {{rh2}} | IOC
| Canceled || 19 August 1988 || December 1988 || December 1987
|-
| {{rh2}} | Deployment date
| Canceled || November 1987 || 28 November 1989 || 28 November 1989
|-
| {{rh2}} | Type of warhead
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | MIRV
|-
| {{rh2}} | Warheads
|colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 10 
|-
| {{rh2}} | Payload (t)
|colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 4.05
|-
| {{rh2}} | Total length (mm)
| 23,300 || 23,400–23,800 || 18,800–23,400 || 23,300
|-
| {{rh2}} | Total length {{abbr|excl.|excluding}} warhead (mm)
| 18,800; 19,000 || 19,000 || 19,000 || 19,000
|-
| {{rh2}} | Missile diameter (mm)
|colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 2,400
|-
| {{rh2}} | Launch mass (t)
|colspan="4" style="text-align:center;" | 104.5
|-
| {{rh2}} | Operating range (km)
| 10,000 || 10,000–11,000 || 10,100-11,000 || 10,100–10,450
|-
| {{rh2}} | CEP (m)
|colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 500 ||colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 150–250
|-
| {{rh2}} | Basing mode
| || Silo || Silo || Railroad
|}

==Former оperators==
; {{USSR}} and {{RUS}}:  The [[Strategic Missile Troops]] were the only operators of the RT-23 until the breakup of the Soviet Union.
:Silo-based with [[46th Rocket Division]] in [[Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast|Pervomaisk]] and [[27th Guards Rocket Army#Composition|60th Rocket Division]] in [[Tatishchevo (air base)|Tatischevo]].<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/>
:Rail-based with [[27th Guards Rocket Army#Composition|10th Rocket Division]] in [[Kostroma]] region, [[52nd Rocket Division]] in [[Zvyozdny, Perm Krai|Zvyozdny]], [[Perm Krai|Perm]] region, and [[33rd Guards Rocket Army#Composition|36th Rocket Division]] in [[Kedrovy, Yemelyanovsky District, Krasnoyarsk Krai|Kedrovy]], [[Krasnoyarsk]] region.<ref name="technerium"/> 
; {{UKR}}:  The [[military of Ukraine|Armed Forces of Ukraine]] inherited 46 silo-based RT-23 missiles stationed in [[Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast|Pervomaisk]] upon independence from the Soviet Union.<ref name="RT-23 FAS"/>

==Gallery==
<gallery perrow="9">
File:Боевой железнодорожный ракетный комплекс БЖРК 15П961 Молодец (1).jpg|RT-23 ''BZhRK'' at [[Varshavsky railway station]]. Now moved to [[Russian Railway Museum]].
File:Missile silo of a SS-24 missile (2).JPG|The only remaining RT-23 silo in [[Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast|Pervomaisk]].
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[BZhRK Barguzin]]
* [[DF-5]]
* [[DF-41]]
* [[LGM-30 Minuteman]]
* [[Peacekeeper Rail Garrison]]
* [[R-36 (missile)]]
* [[RS-24 Yars]]
* [[RS-26 Rubezh]]
* [[RS-28 Sarmat]]
* [[RT-2PM Topol]]
* [[RT-2PM2 Topol-M]]
* [[Strategic Missile Forces]]
* [[UR-100N]]
* [[Hwasong-11A#Railway-borne missile|Railway-borne Hwasong-11A (KN-23)]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|RT-23 Molodets}}
* [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18978275_ITM Russian nuclear forces 2005 (Gated)]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/rt-23.htm Global Security information]
* [http://www.palba.cz/viewtopic.php?t=1893 SS-24 Scalpel – RT-23] {{in lang|cs}} – More photos
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OPi7ulFNXU БЖРК - Боевой Железнодорожный Ракетный Комплекс (YouTube)] {{in lang|ru}} - BZhRK archive footage

{{Russian and Soviet military designation sequences}}
{{Russian and Soviet missiles|SSM}}
{{USAF/DoD reporting names}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rt-23 Molodets}}
[[Category:Cold War intercontinental ballistic missiles of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Railway weapons]]
[[Category:Soviet inventions]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1980s]]