May 29, 2007 :: The Guardian :: News
Russia today tested what it described as a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, capable of carrying multiple independent warheads and penetrating any defense system. The missile, designated as the RS-24, was fired at 2:20 p.m. from a mobile launcher at the northwestern Plesetsk Cosmodrome. It traveled 6,000 miles to the Kamchatka Peninsula. The test was called successful, and the missile's multiple re-entry vehicles landed on target on the Kura testing range, the Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement. Itar-Tass quoted a Russian press release saying that, together with the Topol-M (SS-27, RS-12-M) the new missile system will provide the backbone of Russia’s missile forces beginning in 2008, as construction intensifies and aging Ukrainian made RS-18s and RS-20s (known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan) are being retired.
The AFP quotes Ivan Safranchuk, head of the Center for Defense Information's Moscow office, as noting that "the main advantage is that this is a Russian rocket...The other multiple-warhead missiles were built in Ukraine. Before, there [were] no Russian-built multiple-warhead missiles." (Article)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
