The Barguzin rail-mobile ICBM project just doesn't want to die. After a report about the program being cut (which I consider quite reliable) we have seen a number of stories that suggest that some work continues - first, an industry source was quoted as saying that "some elements of the system" are being built, and now Yuri Solomonov of MITT is saying that the first "pop-up" tests of the missile will take place in the fourth quarter of 2016.
There is no contradiction here, in fact. Even if the program funding was cut (as it apparently was), it makes perfect sense for MITT to continue the work with their own funds, hoping that the funding get restored in fatter years (assuming that they will come).
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Barguzin,Pr4202,Sarmat would be funded during SAP 2018-2025 thats now a certainty with Romania and Poland ABM site coming up and Aegis ship getting deployed at Baltic.
Barguzin would be the cheapest of all the program as its just converting Yars-M to rail system.
Hi Pavel!
If they gonna continue with this program, where do you expect the railbound tests?
As far as I know they removed all the vital installations in Plesetsk which they used for RS-22.
For example at Loshchina (area 163)
http://binged.it/OwZSHe
or Area 171
http://binged.it/Ox0ooA
Would they create a new area or rebuild the former ones?
Any ideas?
Cheers
That's a good question. Quite frankly, I don't know.