Russia Test New Intercontinental Missile

Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RSMF) test-fired a Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of a new generation on Wednesday.

The missile was launched from the First State Testing Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northern Arkhangelsk region, at 12:59 Moscow time (0959 GMT). After an 8,000-kilometer flight, it hit the target at the Kura field situated in the Kamchatka Peninsula, said a spokesman for the RSMF press center.

The successful test will give the green light to the fielding of such missiles as the backbone of the country's strategic forces in the 21st century, the spokesman said.

The forces' press service chief Colonel Ilshat Baichurin said, "The main peculiarity of the launch was that in its course, all systems of navigation, including navigational options in various conditions, were tested."

"A program of launch in most complex conditions was practiced in full. Simultaneously, tasks for control of warning systems action were carried out, confirming the RSMF's high combat preparedness."

The launch was also aimed to collect data on the tactical and technical characteristics and work of all ICBM systems in flight and on the degree of precision with which Topol-M copes with the


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