Ракетный комплекс РТ-23 «УТТХ» и боевой железнодорожный ракетный комплекс БЖРК

, lit. "brave man" or "fine fellow"; NATO reporting name: SS 24 Scalpel) was a cold launched, three stage, solid fueled intercontinental ballistic missile developed and produced before 1991 by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Dnipro, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). It came in silo and rail based variants, and was armed with 10 MIRV warheads (GRAU index: 15Ф444) of 550 kt yield.

The missile and rail based missile complex – or BZhRK (БЖРК, Боевой Железнодорожный Ракетный Комплекс, lit. "Combat Rail based Missile Complex") – were developed by the brothers Vladimir and Alexei Utkin as chief engineers in Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and Design Bureau for Special Machine Building respectively. The missile was tested through the 1980s and was deployed in 1987. and seventeen railcars: a camouflaged tank with diesel fuel and lubricants reserve, three 3 car autonomous launching modules (a launch support systems car, a car with an erectable RT 23 launcher and a launcher command post car), a regiment command post car, a communications systems car, a main diesel generator car, a provision storage car with refrigerators and water tanks, a dining car and two separate living compartment cars for officers and enlisted personnel. All the railcars were camouflaged as either refrigerated vans or passenger cars. The lead locomotive was driven by three Railway Troops officers with good knowledge of a patrolling route, while the two others were operated by enlisted personnel. Shortly after ejection by the powder pressure accumulator, at a height of 20–30 m, the missile would incline itself, so that the first stage exhaust would not damage or overturn the railcar launcher, and then ignite the first stage engine. In order to prevent damage to the railroad tracks caused by high weight of the launching car with a missile (>200 tons), The missile train was able to function autonomously for up to 28 days. Prior to that, in 1988, at Semipalatinsk Test Site, the rail based complex took part in the "Siyanie" (Сияние, lit. "Shining") and "Groza" (Гроза, lit. "Thunderstorm") experiments, meant to evaluate its EMP and lightning protection effectiveness. A total of 46 missiles remained in service by April 1997 with the Strategic Missile Forces (10 silo and 36 rail based). Its successor, BZhRK Barguzin, was reportedly under development for the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), but in 2017 it was announced the project had been frozen due to insufficient funding.

RT 23 versions comparison Service RT 23 RT 23 UTTKh GRAU 15Zh44 15Zh52 15Zh60 15Zh61 DIA SS 24 PL 04 (R&D index) SS 24 Mod 0 SS 24 Mod 2 SS 24 Mod 1 Bilateral RS 22B RS 22A RS 22V Design bureau SKB 586, NPO Yuzhynoy Acad. V. F. Utkin Approved 23 July 1976 1 June 1979 9 August 1983 9 August 1983 Years of R&DJanuary 1969 – March 1977 November 1982 – 1987 1983–1989 1983–1989 First flight test 26 October 1982, failure; December 1982, success April 1984 31 July 1986 27 February 1985 IOC Canceled 19 August 1988 December 1988 December 1987 Deployment date Canceled November 1987 28 November 1989 28 November 1989 Type of warhead MIRV Warheads 10 Payload (t) 4.05 Total length (mm) 23,300 23,400–23,800 18,800–23,400 23,300 Total length excl. (excluding) warhead (mm) 18,800; 19,000 19,000 19,000 19,000 Missile diameter (mm) 2,400 Launch mass (t) 104.5 Operating range (km) 10,000 10,000–11,000 10,100 11,000 10,100–10,450 CEP (m) 500 150–250 Basing mode Silo Silo Railroad

and The Strategic Missile Troops were the only operators of the RT 23 until the breakup of the Soviet Union. Silo based with 46th Rocket Division in Pervomaisk and 60th Rocket Division in Tatischevo. Rail based with 10th Rocket Division in Kostroma region, 52nd Rocket Division in Zvyozdny, Perm region, and 36th Rocket Division in Kedrovy, Krasnoyarsk region. The Armed Forces of Ukraine inherited 46 silo based RT 23 missiles stationed in Pervomaisk upon independence from the Soviet Union.