Pioneer-3
Type	intermediate-range ballistic missile
Service history
In service	1976–1988
Used by	Soviet Union
Production history
Manufacturer	Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Specifications
Weight	37 tonnes
Length	16. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant is a ballistic missile production facility in Votkinsk, Russia. 5 metres
Diameter	1. 8 m
Warhead	3
Blast yield	each 150 Kt
Engine	two-stage solid fuel
Operational range	5,500km
Guidance system	inertial

The RSD-10 Pioneer (Russian: ракета средней дальности (РСД, tr.:RSD) «Пионер»; English: Medium-Range Missile "Pioneer") was a medium-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Romanization of the Russian alphabet is the process of transliterating the Russian language from the Cyrillic alphabet and English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A ballistic missile is a Missile that follows a Sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead to a predetermined target A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) It carried GRAU designation 15Zh45. The Main Agency of Missiles and Artillery of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation ( GRAU) ( Главное ракетно-артиллерийское управление Its NATO reporting name was SS-20 Saber. NATO reporting names are unclassified Code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc ( Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw pact It was withdrawn from service under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ( INF) was a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The missile was 16. 5 m high, 1. 79 m in diameter and weighed 37. 1 tons. It was based on two solid-fuel fibre-glass clad stages of the RT-21 Temp 2S (SS-16 Sinner) so it was also known as the RT-21M Pioneer. Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass. The RT-21 Temp 2S was a mobile Intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The missile's range was from 600 to 5,000 km initially; the final model had a maximum range of possibly 7,500 km. Initially the missile was fitted with a single 1 MT, 1. 6 ton warhead, later models could take one warhead or two and from 1980 three MIRV'd 150 KT devices (Pioneer UTTH). Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV) is a collection of Nuclear weapons carried on a single Intercontinental ballistic missile The CEP was also reduced from 550 metres to 150-450 meters. In the Military science of Ballistics, circular error probable (CEP or circular error probability is an intuitive measure of a weapon system's accuracy

It was intended to replace, or augment, the R-12 Dvina (SS-4 Sandal) and R-14 Usovaya (SS-5 Skean) missiles deployed from 1958 and 1961 respectively in the USSR and Warsaw Pact states. The R-12 Dvina (Р-12 «Двина» Dvina) was a Theatre ballistic missile developed and deployed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The R-14 Chusovaya (Чусовая was a Theatre ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. It entered the development stage in 1966 ^[1] and a design concept was approved in 1968 and the task given to the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology and Alexander Nadiradze. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology is a Russian (and former Soviet) scientific Research institute that was founded on May 13, 1946 Flight testing began in 1974 and deployment commenced on March 11, 1976, with the first supplied units becoming operational in August of that year. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Up to 1986 a total of 48 launch sites, including a site at Pavschino, were equipped with 405 RSD-10 missiles. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Pavscino (sometimes transliterated from Cyrillic as Pawschino Pavschino Povshin Pavshyn Pawsin Pausin or Pausyn all of which names are/were attempts to render 'Pausching'

The Warsaw Pact enjoyed in Central Europe a massive conventional superiority over NATO. The Warsaw Pact (see Nomenclature) was an organization of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The North Atlantic Treaty Warsaw Pact forces assumed that NATO would use Theater Nuclear Forces to stop a massive conventional Soviet offensive. A tactical nuclear weapon (or TNW) refers to a Nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations ^[2] The RSD-10 provided the Soviet Union with an in-theater "selective" targeting capability that it previously had lacked. The RSD-10 had the capacity to destroy virtually every NATO base, weapons storage site with negligible warning. Thus, the Soviet Union acquired the capability to neutralise NATO tactical nuclear forces with surgical nuclear strikes. This page is about the military attack for the Sega CD FMV game see Surgical Strike (video game.

The United States deployed Pershing II and Tomahawk missiles in Western Europe in attempt to counter the RSD-10. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Pershing was a family of solid-fueled two-stage Medium-range ballistic missiles designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Redstone missile as The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM is a long-range all-weather subsonic cruise missile

654 missiles were built in total. These and the 499 associated mobile launchers were destroyed by May 1991 in accordance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ( INF) was a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fifteen SS-20 and Pershing II are preserved to commemorate this agreement. One RSD-10 can be seen in the grounds of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev, Ukraine, and another is inside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at Washington, D.C.. The National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 years (Національний музей історії Великої Вітчизняної Війни Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The National Air and Space Museum (NASM of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

See also

List of missiles

References

External links

• SS-20 - Saber - (MAZ-547A base), RSD-10, Pioner – Walk around photos
• Orbat.com listing of SS-20 units 1989
• (Russian) RSD-10 "Pioneer"