Top 10 Fastest Rockets in the world (Updated today)
Rockets are considered to be one of the fastest vehicles, but do you know how fast rockets can reach? Which rocket is the fastest rocket on the planet and which country is it owned by? Soon, we will reveal to you the list of the top 10 fastest rockets in the world.
Rocket R-12U
Holding the 10th place in the fastest rockets in the world ranking is none other than the R-12U rocket with a speed of 3.8 km/s. R-12U is considered the fastest medium-range ballistic missile today. The R-12U missile is an upgrade of the R-12 missile with an increase in the number of fuel tanks and a number of other small designs. The warhead that R-12U uses is a Megaton thermonuclear warhead. This is also the gas that made Western Europe wary of the Soviet Union.
Both the R-12 and the R-12U have been in service with the Soviet armed forces since 1976 and have completely replaced the “Pioneer” mobile system.
However, all of them were forced to stop working under the Treaty with the US.
=> Read More: Top 10 Fastest Flying Devices in the world
=> Read More: Top 10 Most Expensive Motorcycles in the World
Rocket SM-65 “Atlas”
The SM-65 “Atlas” rocket holds 9th place in the fastest rockets in the world ranking. This is one of the fastest missiles in the US because of the speed it reaches 5.8 km / s. The SM-65 “Atlas” missile was developed under the MX-1593 program from 1951 and it was also the first intercontinental ballistic missile of the US military. From 1959-1964, it was used primarily in the US Air Force’s nuclear arsenal. However, when modern rockets “Minuteman” were born, they were abandoned.
The SM-65 “Atlas” missile was designed by Convair of General Dynamics and installed at the Kearny Mesa plants in San Diego.
Rocket UGM-133A Trident II
Holds 8th place in the fastest rockets in the world rankings with a top speed of 6 km/s. Since 1977, the Trident II had been developed alongside the Trident I, but it was not until 1990 that it entered military service.
Trident II has a total weight of up to 59 tons and is 13.57 meters long, its body alone has a diameter of 2.11 meters. The Trident II missile can carry 14 independently guided nuclear warheads W88 475 or W76 100kt.
Missile RSM-56 Bulava
The RSM-56 Bulava missile can travel at a maximum speed of 6 km/s and deal damage within a radius of 8000 km. Therefore, it is obviously holding the 7th place in the fastest rockets in the world ranking.
In 1998, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology developed and announced the RSM-56 Bulava missile, after which they launched a land-based version of it as the Topol-M. Up to now, there have been more than 24 test launches of this missile.
Minuteman LGM-30G – 6th in the fastest rockets in the world rankings
The Minuteman LGM-30G is one of the world’s fastest land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles developed by the United States. Its top speed is 6.7 km/s with a range of 6000 km to 10000 km. The range it can travel will vary depending on the warhead it carries. The Minuteman LGM-30G missile has been used by the US armed forces since 1970.
The first test launch of the Minuteman LGM-30G took place in February 1961. Their weight increased to 34,473 kg and were equipped with a solid-fuel 3-stage engine.
Missile 53T6 “Amur”
The 53T6 “Amur” missile is designed by Russia with the purpose of destroying targets thanks to its highly maneuverable supersonic engine and it holds the 5th place in the fastest rockets in the world table. Its first test launch was in 1989 and its top speed was 5 km/s. Its entire body is made of steel and is 12 meters long. Thanks to this special design, it can withstand heavy loads.
It is predicted that in the future, Russia will combine 53T6 “Amur” with S-500 and S-400 to establish a multi-layered ballistic missile defense umbrella to protect Russia.
SS-18 (R-36M)
With a top speed of 7.3 km/s, the SS-18 (R-36M) rocket holds the 4th place in the ranking of the fastest rockets in the world. The purpose of the US building this type of missile is to destroy command posts in the most fortified places. It is estimated that the nuclear explosion of a single missile can obliterate a large city. The exact distance from the nuclear warhead to the target is 200-250 meters.
SS-18 (R-36M) has 16 compartments, but who knows that one of those 16 compartments is loaded with “bait” for the enemy.
In addition, the warhead of SS-18 (R-36M) is also equipped with advanced guidance technology to be able to evade interceptor missiles. Thanks to this, the speed of SS-18 (R-36M) is increased and can be up to 24,500 km / h and many other counter-attack capabilities.
Rocket DongFeng 5А
Holding the 3rd place in the ranking of the fastest rockets in the world is DongFeng 5А with a speed of 7.9 km/s. They can carry a 5 ton warhead and have a range of 12 000 km.
However, the weakness of this missile is that the deviation from the target is about 1 km, so their main target is a big city. They are made by China based on the Soviet version of SS-22 from the 70s.
Rocket R-7
This is Russia’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. With a speed of up to 7.9 km / s, it clearly holds the 2nd place in the ranking of the fastest rockets in the world. They were built and developed during the years 1956-1957 by OKB-1 in Kaliningrad. Four engines attached to the main fuselage will provide that force for the rocket in the first stage (launching, accelerating and gaining altitude), the engine on the main body provides thrust in the second stage (acceleration and take-off). height). The navigation system is radio-tuned for inertia.
They put the first artificial satellite Sputnik into the air. Since 196, they have been more widely used for spaceflight.
According to statistics, between 1957 and 2000, about 1800 rockets were launched and 97% of the launches were successful. First launched in 1957, the R-7 made a big breakthrough in the world missile industry, just after the appearance of the German A-4 rocket.
Rocket RT 2PM2 “Topol-M” – 1st in the chart the fastest rockets in the world
With a speed of 7.9 km / s, RT 2PM2 “Topol-M” is named the fastest rocket on the planet. During operation, it can carry a nuclear warhead with a capacity of about 550 kt. The RT 2PM2 “Topol-M” missile entered the Russian army for use in 2000.
Recently, Russia continued to launch a new version of the RT 2PM2 with additional solid fuel engines, making them faster than many other similar missiles. This forces other countries confronting Russia to be cautious and to continuously improve their enemy’s missile interceptor systems.
Hopefully, through this article, you have gained more interesting information about rockets. It can be seen that most of the missiles on the list of fastest rockets in the world are used for military purposes. If you have a chance, would you like to see these rockets?
=> Read more: Top 10 Biggest Electric Vehicle Manufacturers in the World