Russia tests ballistic missile

As Russia today successfully tested a new long-range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile from its Plesetsk cosmodrome, President Vladimir Putin warned US not to turn Europe into “powder keg”.

As Russia today successfully tested a new long-range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from its Plesetsk cosmodrome, President Vladimir Putin warned US not to turn Europe into “powder keg”.

“We consider it harmful and dangerous to turn Europe into a ‘powder keg’ and fill it with new kinds of weapons,” Putin told reporters after talks with visiting Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates. “It creates new unwanted risks for the entire system of international and European relations,” Putin said, referring to US plans to deploy elements of national missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The ICBM called RS-24 has multiple independently targettable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) warheads and was launched from a mobile missile system this afternoon.

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The new missile will replace two ageing ICBM systems—the RS-18 and RS-20, known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and SS-18 Satan, respectively.

“The missile successfully hit the target 5,500 km away on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula,” a spokesperson for Russian Strategic Missile forces said. The new ICBM met all international requirements in terms of strategic offensive arms reduction and was capable of avoiding missile defence systems, the spokesperson added. He stressed it would enhance Russia’s nuclear deterrent potential when deployed.

Alexander Golts, a military analyst was surprise at the news. “It seems to be a brand new missile. It’s either a decoy or something that has been developed in complete secrecy,” he said.