Longest Range Missiles
The longest-range missile in the world is the 9M730 Burevestnik, with a range of 20,000 km. Compare the longest-range missiles in the world, from ICBMs capable of striking any point on Earth to long-range cruise missiles used in modern conflicts. Range determines strategic reach and is a key measure of deterrence capability and power projection.
Top 15
| # | Name | Country | km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9M730 Burevestnik | 🇷🇺 Russia | 20,000 |
| 2 | RS-28 Sarmat | 🇷🇺 Russia | 18,000 |
| 3 | R36M / RS-20 | 🇷🇺 Ex-USSR | 16,000 |
| 4 | R-36 | 🇷🇺 Ex-USSR | 16,000 |
| 5 | Dongfeng DF-41 | 🇨🇳 China | 15,000 |
| 6 | Hwasong-17 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 15,000 |
| 7 | LGM-30 Minuteman III | 🇺🇸 United States | 14,000 |
| 8 | Dongfeng DF-5 | 🇨🇳 China | 13,000 |
| 9 | Hwasong-15 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | 13,000 |
| 10 | Trident 2D5 | 🇺🇸 United States | 12,000 |
| 11 | RS-24 Yars | 🇷🇺 Russia | 12,000 |
| 12 | R-7 Semyorka | 🇷🇺 Ex-USSR | 12,000 |
| 13 | Dongfeng DF-31 | 🇨🇳 China | 11,700 |
| 14 | MGM-134 Midgetman | 🇺🇸 United States | 11,000 |
| 15 | RT-2PM2 Topol-M | 🇷🇺 Russia | 11,000 |
About this Ranking
Range determines strategic reach. A missile that can strike 15,000 kilometers away gives its operator a fundamentally different set of options than one limited to 300 kilometers. The longest-range missiles are consequently the most strategically significant weapons ever built — they underpin nuclear deterrence and define the limits of power projection.
The ranking is led by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) — weapons designed to deliver nuclear payloads across hemispheres in under 30 minutes. The United States, Russia, and China all field land-based ICBMs with ranges exceeding 10,000 km; Russia's RS-28 Sarmat has a stated range exceeding 18,000 km, sufficient to reach any point on Earth via polar trajectories designed to bypass traditional missile defense corridors.
Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) offer comparable range with a survivability advantage: a submarine at sea is far harder to destroy in a first strike than a fixed silo. The UK's Trident II D5 and France's M51 represent the Western SLBM fleet; Russia's Bulava and China's JL-3 are their counterparts.
Below the ICBM tier, long-range cruise missiles extend conventional precision strike into the thousands-of-kilometers range: the US Tomahawk, Russia's Kalibr, and China's CJ-10 all offer standoff attack capability that has proven decisive in recent conflicts. This ranking covers all missile categories — ballistic and cruise — sorted strictly by maximum stated range.