Russia tests intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched from the Plesetsk launch site in northern Russia on Friday, Strategic Missile Forces spokesperson, Colonel Alexander Vovk informed Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti. The joint Strategic Missile and Space Forces crew launched the RT-2PM Topol (also known as an SS-25 Sickle) missile at 12:09 GMT +3.

“The launch’s purpose was to ensure the stability of the missile’s performance during periods of extended operations. The ICBM re-entry vehicle hit within a given accuracy a training target at the Kamchatka peninsula (in the Far East of Russia),” Vovk said.

The success of the launch has allowed the service term of all Topol missiles to be extended for to 22 years. “The life of the Topol missiles had long ago surpassed the warranty period of ten years,” Alexander Vovk remarked.

The three stage solid propellant RT-2PM Topol became the first Soviet mobile ICBM to be successfully and widely deployed. It was deployed in 1987 after two decades of unsuccessful attempts by different design bureaus to create a reliable mobile launch system. It emerged from the same line of development as mobile missiles such as the SS-X-16 Sinner and the SS-20 Saber, and was deployed as a replacement for the widely deployed SS-11Sego. The United States had considered developing its own road-mobile ICBM called the Midgetman, but it eventually dropped the idea.