Putin’s Much-Hyped ‘Satan 2’ Missile Spectacularly Fails

A test of Russia’s new intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month appears to have gone catastrophically wrong. Satellite images captured Saturday appear to show a roughly 200 foot crater and blast damage at a launch silo at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome, reportedly indicating a failed test of a Sarmat missile. “A large crater (approximately 62 meters wide) is visible at the launch silo and extensive damage in and around the launch pad can be seen which suggests that the missile exploded shortly after ignition or launch,” George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, wrote in an X post comparing before and after images. The ICBM—referred to in the West as “Satan II”—has been vaunted in Russia for its purported ability to deliver multiple nuclear warheads and a hypersonic glide vehicle system which Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed to be unrivaled by any of Moscow’s adversaries. He said in October 2023 the new missile’s testing was almost complete, with his defense minister at the time adding that it would become “the basis of Russia’s ground-based strategic nuclear forces,” Reuters reports.