Throughout the 1990s, Typhoon class submarines and the R-39 missiles they carried were gradually withdrawn from service. Under the terms of the START I and START II treaties, from 1996 a number of R-39 missiles were destroyed. At full deployment, 120 missiles were deployed with 1,200 total warheads. Later tests aboard a modified Typhoon-class submarine were more successful and deployment began in May 1983, with 20 missiles in each submarine. Initial test flights from 1979 found problems in the solid-fuel boost engines, over half of the early flights failed. The launch system was designated "D-19".ĭevelopment work began at NII Mashinostroyeniya in 1971 and the design gained official approval in 1973. During the missile's passage through the water additional motors produce a gaseous wall around the missile, reducing hydrodynamic resistance. Like other SLBMs the initial launch was powered by a gas generator in the bottom of the firing tube. It was carried on board Typhoon-class submarines.Īn intercontinental missile, the R-39 had a three-stage solid-fuel boost design with a liquid-fuel post-boost unit carrying up to ten multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle warheads. The missile had GRAU indices of 3M65, 3M20, and 3R65. The R-39 Rif ( Russian: Р-39 Риф, lit.' reef' NATO reporting name: SS-N-20 Sturgeon bilateral arms control designation: RSM-52) was a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that served with the Soviet Navy from its introduction in 1983 until 1991, after which it served with the Russian Navy until 2004.
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