Group : Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
Status : Active
Also Known As : 15A35-71, 15P771, RS-25?, SS-30
Origin : Russia
Contractors : Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, NPK Tekhmash, Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV)
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) : December 27, 2019
First Flight : June 7, 2013
Total Production : 30

The Avangard is a projected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which existence was disclosed by the Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in early 2011. It is not clear whether it is an highly upgraded variant of the Yars ballistic missile or an entirely new ICBM design. The Moscow's Institute of Thermal Technology was involved in its development. In September 2011, a failed missile test in Plesetsk was attributed to both Yars and Avangard weapon systems. The Avangard missile might feature a MIRVed warhead utilizing a new design to penetrate anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defenses like the planned by NATO and the United States (US). A standard MIRVed ICBM includes the so-called post-boost vehicle, or bus, which is used to deliver nuclear warheads to targets according to the flight program. In the new missile design the bus is missing allowing the warheads to separate all at once along with decoys in order to maneuver independently under the same flight programs. The booster used by Avangard are modified SS-19/UR-100NUTTH missiles.

If the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) finally develop and deploy the Avangard, RS-25?, it would around 2014 assuming that the failed test was the first launch of the new weapon system. It also remains open the question if the Avangard will be deployed in underground silos or on mobile platforms. The Avangard development was dropped in favor of the RS-26 Rubezh which is slated for entry into service in 2016. Actually the Avangard may have been an alternative design for the RS-26. On March 1, 2018, President Putin revealed Avangard to be an advanced cruise missile capable of speeds in excess of Mach 20 launched by a ballistic missile into the exo atmosphere above 100-to-150 kilometers of altitude. The Avangard highly hypersonic cruise missile is capable of modifying its trajectory, maneuvering over thousands of kilometers, to avoid ground- or sea-based missile defenses all over the globe. The Avangard weapon system represents a true breakthrough in missile technology with no match all over the world. It uses new composite materials to withstand the extreme temperatures of such high hypersonic speed (in excess of 2,000-degree Celsius). The Avangard weapon system has already been tested during several experiments.