The recently introduced Russian RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) seems a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) developed from hell. It travels faster than the speed of sound and carries multiple nuclear warheads that in turn can be configured to strike targets independently. Appropriately, the Pentagon nicknamed the RS-28 as Satan 2.
Satan 2 is now the flagship Russian ICBM, replacing the R-36 or also known as the original Satan ICBM. Both WMDs, according to Business Insider, can hit the continental United States on all stretch and the last check from the U.S. military indicated that when airborne any of the Satan ICBMs are unstoppable.
"Neither missile can be stopped by the US's existing missile defenses," the report said.
But formidable and destructive the Satan 2 (likewise the first Satan) is, the ICBM has its share of weaknesses that the Pentagon can exploit to its advantage. For one, according to Dr. Jeffery Lewis of Arms Control Wonk, the WMDs are unstable no thanks to the Russians' use of liquid fuel.
"Russians love liquid fuel so much," Lewis told Business Insider, adding that the technology allows the deployment of multiple warheads in a single missile launch. But there also lies the hazard on Russia's part, Lewis said.
It's not very strategic to cram numerous warheads into one missile as the move affords the enemy the advantage of fewer targets to map when going for preemptive strikes, which appear as the best defense that the U.S. has against Satan or Satan 2 given that the ICBMs are impossible to intercept mid-air.
Lewis also claimed that with liquid fuel running inside of the Satan ICBMs, they are both unstable and less-mobile. They are unlikely to be deployed via submarines so the preferred delivery by the Russians would be missile silos - meaning the launch locations are fixed and therefore are easier targets for preemptive action.
And back to the unstable issue for both the Satan and Satan 2 ICBMs, there are just too many things working against the Russians. One is the crucial concern of maintenance. "Russia's newest nukes have an absurd, diabolical offensive potential, they demand constant attention and protection ... Moscow now has dangerous liquid-field missiles to maintain with costly maintenance for decades to come," Business Insider said on its report.
Yet the most dreadful scenario would be Russia's enemies successfully wiping out the Satan and Satan 2 ICBMs in preemptive strikes that at the same time will likely result to the nation instead absorbing the hellish destruction designed with the WMD.