The Strategic Rocket Forces From 1960 to 1978

‘War would start in the heart of the belligerent countries, and there would not be a single capital, not a single major industrial or administrative center, not a single strategic area which would not be subjected to attack.  Not only in the first days, but in the first minutes of the war.” 

- Nikita Khrushchev
January, 1960

Introduction

The Strategic Rocket Forces were formed on 7 May 1960 as a new branch of the Soviet military.  This new service was to have operational control over all missiles with a range greater than 1000 km.  Other missiles of shorter range were known as ‘operational-tactical’ missiles to be commanded by the other services. 

Since its creation the Strategic Rocket Forces have always been highly regarded.  This was because the thinking of the era believed that a nuclear exchange would last only a few hours at best.  The army, navy, and air force would be caught by surprise and destroyed before they could react.  Only the Strategic Rocket Forces would be able to deter or respond to Western nuclear aggression.

Because of its high status, the Rocket Forces always received the first choice of potential conscript recruits.  This was not always a good thing for the conscript, however, as it limited his chances of obtaining a visa to travel to foreign countries after his term of service was over.  The locations that the conscript would be stationed at were another disappointment as they tended to be very far from the major cities and offered few forms of entertainment for the soldier when on leave.

The Early Years

When the Strategic Rocket Forces were formed they were armed with very few first generation missiles developed in the 1950's.  The SS-4 'Sandal' and SS-6 'Sapwood' missiles would be the primary weapons of the force, but initial deployment would be very slow.  In 1959 there were only 10 operational SS-6 'Sapwood' missiles in service.  These were not capable of reaching the United States, but would be used as a deterrent by 'holding Europe hostage'.  This meant that any nuclear strike against the Soviet Union would be answered by a nuclear strike on European NATO states.  This would cause the Western European powers to pressure the United States and cause a rift in the NATO alliance.

The early sixties were anxious times for the Soviet Union.  Things were made worse when the United States began deploying Jupiter II missiles with nuclear warheads in Turkey.  Nikita Khrushchev responded by placing SS-4 'Sandal' missiles in Cuba along with FROG-3 battlefield nuclear rockets.  The Cuban Missile Crisis ultimately resulted in the Soviet Union pulling its missiles out of Cuba and the United States pulling its missiles out of Turkey.

Despite the seemingly successful resolution of the crisis, the incident would have long lasting repercussions.  The first of these would be the replacement of Marshal Biryuzov as head of the Rocket Forces.  Marshal Krylov would take his place as head of the force.  Even Nikita Khrushchev would not emerge unscathed.  He was removed from office and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev the following year.

From Inferiority to Parity Plus

These changes in leadership would lead to a dramatic shift in nuclear policy.  Brezhnev wanted the military cutbacks of his predecessor to be reversed as soon as possible.  He also wanted the Rocket Forces to develop better missiles and radically increase the number of them.  Never again would the Soviet Union bargain from a position of weakness when it came to nuclear weapons.

The first of these advances came in the form of several second generation missile systems such as the SS-7 'Saddler' and SS-8 'Sasin'.  These had a much longer range and could finally reach the United States, thereby becoming a real and effective deterrent.  The SS-10 'Scrag' was also to complement these new missiles.  It would have carried the new Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) but its designer had been too close to Khrushchev and had fallen out of favor along with him.

The buildup continued through the sixties and by 1965 the Strategic Rocket Forces deployed their first Third Generation missiles, the SS-9 'Scarp' and SS-11 'Sego'.  They were also well on their way to developing Multiple Reentry Vehicles (MRV's) for their warheads.

By 1969 the Strategic Rocket Forces had achieved nuclear parity with the United States.  Many in the United States believed that this would satisfy the Soviet Union.  It would not.  As the arms race continued into the 1970's several treaties were signed.  The first was the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty which limited defensive systems, while the second was the Interim Agreement on Offensive weapons that limited the number of warheads on either side.

Even with these treaties the Rocket Forces continued production of new and better weapons.  The first warheads with multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV's) began to enter service in 1974.  New 'cold launch' technology began to be used.  This would allow silo based missiles to be reloaded and fired without damaging the silo after launch.  Fourth Generation missiles such as the SS-18 'Satan' and SS-20 'Sabre' entered service.

Because intermediate range nuclear missiles like the SS-20 'Sabre' were not covered by the treaty limiting long range weapons, they were manufactured in quantity and deployed in Eastern Europe.  The West was clearly alarmed.  It seemed as if a nuclear war in the 1980's would be inevitable.