Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle)

{{Short description|Russian missile}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox weapon | name = Avangard Авангард | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | type = Hypersonic glide vehicle | origin = Russia  | is_ranged = Yes | is_explosive = Yes | is_artillery = | is_vehicle = | is_missile = Yes  | service = 2019–present<ref name= "tass_combat_duty">{{cite news|url= https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/7436431 |title=Первый ракетный полк "Авангарда" заступил на боевое дежурство |website= TASS |date= 27 December 2019 |access-date= 27 December 2019|language= ru}}</ref> | used_by = Strategic Rocket Forces | wars =  | designer = Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology | design_date = | manufacturer = Votkinsk Machine Building Plant | unit_cost = | production_date = 2018–present<ref name="Avangard">{{cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/5b5048249a79479a995f2d5b|title=В России запустили серийное производство гиперзвуковой ракеты "Авангард"|website=РБК|date=19 July 2018 }}</ref> | number = | variants =  | spec_label = | mass = ~{{convert|2|tonnes|lb}}<ref name="missilethreat">{{cite web|url=https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/avangard/|title=Avangard|website=missilethreat.csis.org|date=27 September 2019|access-date=28 December 2019}}</ref> | length = 5.4 m<ref name="auto">{{cite news|title=Шахты "Авангарда". Почему гиперзвуковые блоки решили ставить на Урале|url=https://ria.ru/20181218/1548145263.html|date=18 December 2018|access-date=15 October 2019|language=ru}}</ref> | part_length = | width = | height = | diameter =  | filling = | filling_weight = | detonation = | yield = unknown<ref name=MDAA>{{cite web|url=https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-threat-and-proliferation/todays-missile-threat/russia/avangard-hypersonic-glide-vehicle/|website=Missile Defense Advocacy Agency|title=Avangard (Hypersonic Glide Vehicle)}}</ref>  | wingspan = | propellant = | ceiling = | altitude = | boost = | depth = | accuracy = | launch_platform = ICBM R-36M2, RS-28, UR-100 | transport =  | ref = }}

The '''Avangard''' ({{langx|ru|Авангард}}, "Vanguard"; previously known as '''Objekt 4202''', '''Yu-71''' and '''Yu-74''') is a Russian hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). It can be carried as a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) payload of heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), such as the UR-100UTTKh,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/we-now-know-how-russias-new-avangard-hypersonic-boost-glide-25003|title=We Now Know How Russia's New Avangard Hypersonic Boost-Glide Weapon Will Launch|first=Dave|last=Majumdar|website=The National Interest|date=20 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://tass.com/defense/995167|title=Russia to use SS-19 ICBMs as carriers for Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles — source}}</ref> R-36M2 and RS-28 Sarmat. It can deliver both nuclear and conventional payloads.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/18906/heres-the-six-super-weapons-putin-unveiled-during-fiery-address|title=Here's The Six Super Weapons Putin Unveiled During Fiery Address|first=Joseph|last=Trevithick|date=March 2018 |access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenseworld.net/news/22162#.Wq7Ad0nxJqU|title=Russia's New Avangard Hypersonic Missile System To Enter Service By 2019|website=www.defenseworld.net|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/world/introducing-the-avangard-hypersonic-missile-a-look-inside-putins-new-high-tech-arsenal |title=Introducing 'Avangard' and 'Sarmat': Putin shows off new hypersonic, nuclear missiles |newspaper=National Post |date=1 March 2018 |access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> The Avangard is reportedly capable of travelling at re-entry speeds of over Mach 27 and close to Mach 30.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-installs-one-more-hypersonic-nuclear-missile-ifax-2023-11-16/#:~:text=As%20it%20approaches%20its%20target,or%2034%2C000%20kilometres%20per%20hour).|website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/avangard/</ref>

The Avangard was one of six new Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.

==History== thumb|right|Launch of the UR-100UTTKh ICBM, carrying the Avangard HGV, Dombarovsky Air Base, 26 December 2018 According to Russian president Vladimir Putin, the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in 2002 forced Russia to start developing hypersonic weapons: "We had to create these [hypersonic] weapons in response to the US deployment of a strategic missile defense system, which in the future would be capable of virtually neutralizing, zeroing out all our nuclear potential."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tekdeeps.com/putin-named-the-reason-for-the-development-of-hypersonic-weapons-rossiyskaya-gazeta/|title=Putin named the reason for the development of hypersonic weapons|date=19 September 2020|access-date=27 September 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125170138/https://tekdeeps.com/putin-named-the-reason-for-the-development-of-hypersonic-weapons-rossiyskaya-gazeta/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> In 2007, when asked about U.S. plans to deploy ballistic missile defenses in Europe, Putin mentioned that Russia was developing "strategic weapons systems of a completely different type that will fly at hypersonic speed and will be able to change trajectory both in terms of altitude and direction".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=767862|title=Hyper-glide Delivery Systems and the Implications for Strategic Stability and Arms Reductions|date=April 2015}}</ref>

In October 2016, a flight test was carried out using a R-36M2 heavy ICBM launched from Dombarovsky Air Base, reportedly successfully hitting a target at the Kura Missile Test Range. This was reportedly the first fully successful test of the glide vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://ria.ru/radio_brief/20161028/1480246498.html|title=Эксперт об "изделии 4202": теперь США будут меньше бряцать оружием |website= Ria |date=28 October 2016 |access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref>

On 1 March 2018, Putin, in his presidential address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow, announced that testing of the weapon is now complete and that it has entered serial production. This was further confirmed by the commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, Colonel General Sergey Karakayev.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2018/0302/103545658/detail.shtml |title=ЦАМТО / Новости / Траектория полета ракеты "Авангард" проходит на высоте десятков километров|website= Armstrade}}</ref>

On 19 September 2020, Herbert Yefremov, an Advisor for Science at the NPO Mashinostroyenia, was awarded the Order of St. Andrew for his contributions to the development of ''Avangard''.<ref name="Yefremov_awarded">{{cite news |url=http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/64058 |title=Conversation with Gerbert Yefremov |date=19 September 2020 |access-date=27 September 2020 |publisher=Kremlin.ru }}</ref>

==Design== HGVs differ from traditional ballistic missile warheads by virtue of their ability to maneuver and operate at lower altitudes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-04/news/pentagon-tests-hypersonic-glide-body |title=Pentagon Tests Hypersonic Glide Body |last1=Reif |first1=Kingston |last2=Bugos |first2=Shannon|date=April 2020|website=armscontrol.org|publisher=Arms Control Association |access-date=2 July 2020}}</ref> The combination of maneuverability and high speed poses significant challenges for conventional missile defense.{{Whom|date=November 2024}} With the advantage again swinging toward attack, R. Jeffrey Smith speculates that weapons of this type will reignite the kind of arms race that dominated the Cold War era.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/magazine/hypersonic-missiles.html |title=Hypersonic Missiles Are Unstoppable. And They're Starting a New Global Arms Race. |last1=Smith |first1=R. Jeffrey |author-link1=R. Jeffrey Smith|date=19 June 2019 |website=The New York Times |access-date=2 July 2020 |quote="Jack Reed ... told me it might make sense to question the weapons' global impact or talk with Russia about the risks they create, but the priority in Washington right now is to get our versions built."}}</ref>

According to open-source analysis by Janes Information Services, ''Avangard'' is a pure glide vehicle without an independent propulsion system.<ref name="Jane's_propulsion">{{cite web|url=https://www.janes.com/images/assets/298/79298/Russia_unveils_new_strategic_delivery_systems.pdf|title=Russia unveils new strategic delivery systems|publisher=Jane's Information Group|date=2018|website=www.janes.com}}</ref> When approaching a target, the glider supposedly is capable of sharp high speed horizontal and vertical evasive maneuvers in flight.{{Whom|date=November 2024}}

The Avangard weighs about {{convert|2000|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and travels at Mach 20–27, giving it the equivalent of 21 tons of TNT in kinetic energy alone, excluding any explosive warhead.<ref>[https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/could-russias-hypersonic-avangard-icbm-really-travel-20-times-speed-sound-169252 Could Russia's Hypersonic Avangard ICBM Really Travel At 20-Times The Speed Of Sound?]</ref>

==Operators== {{flag|Russia}} *Strategic Rocket Forces – The Strategic Rocket Forces are the only operator of the Avangard HGV. As of May 2025,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://russianforces.org/missiles/|title=Strategic Rocket Forces|publisher=russianforces.org|access-date=7 January 2020}} {{Cite web|url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2020/1222/133060997/detail.shtml|title=ЦАМТО / Новости / РВСН получили на вооружение четыре ракетных комплекса "Авангард"}} {{cite web | url=https://tass.com/defense/1378715 | title=Russian nuclear trifecta modernization level highest in history, defense minister says }} {{cite web | url=https://tass.com/defense/1539059 | title=Missile regiment near Orenburg being rearmed with Avangard system — Defense Ministry }} {{cite web | url=https://tass.com/defense/1551935 | title=Avangard missiles put on combat duty in Russia's southern Urals }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=ЦАМТО / / В Оренбургской области завершены работы по перевооружению очередного полка соединения РВСН на РК «Авангард» | website=ЦАМТО / Центр анализа мировой торговли оружием | date=2023-12-18 | url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2023/1218/073577021/detail.shtml | language=ru | ref={{sfnref | ЦАМТО / Центр анализа мировой торговли оружием | 2023}} | access-date=2023-12-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Podvig | first=Pavel | title=New Avangard positions at Dombarovskiy | journal=Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces | date=2025-05-28 | url=https://russianforces.org/blog/2025/05/new_avangard_positions_at_domb.shtml | access-date=2025-05-30}}</ref> 12 Avangard-equipped UR-100N UTTHs are deployed with the 13th Red Banner Rocket Division at Yasny, Orenburg Oblast.

==See also== * {{anl|Boeing X-51 Waverider}} * {{anl|DARPA Falcon Project}} * {{anl|DF-ZF}} * {{anl|Dhvani (hypersonic glide vehicle)}} * {{anl|Oreshnik (missile)}} * {{anl|Prompt Global Strike}} * {{anl|Silbervogel}} * {{anl|Tupolev Tu-130}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Andrew Cockburn, "Like a Ball of Fire: Andrew Cockburn on hypersonic weaponry", ''London Review of Books'', vol. 42, no. 5 (5 March 2020), pp. 31–32.

Category:Nuclear weapons of Russia Category:Hypersonic aircraft Category:Post–Cold War weapons of Russia Category:Military equipment introduced in the 2010s