Russia Tests New ICBM After NATO Missile System Launched

RT
May 23, 2012

Russia test-fires AMD-piercing strategic missile

The Russian military have successfully launched a top secret advanced intercontinental ballistic missile. It is designed to counter the American antimissile shield currently being deployed in several regions.

The new weapon is an advanced version of the Topol-M and Yars missiles, already deployed by the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. The experiment was boosted off from the Plesetsk launch site in north-western Russia’s Arkhangelsk region on Wednesday. It delivered its test block to the Kura target range in Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East.

The main purpose of the launch was to confirm feasibility of the design approaches incorporated into the missile, spokesman for the Forces Colonel Vadim Koval told journalists.

The successful test comes after a failed launch of the prototype on September 27, 2011. At the time the missile’s first-stage engine reportedly failed, which resulted in it dropping some 10 kilometers from the launch pad.

The medium-weight ICBM is “one of the military-technical measures, which Russia’s military-political leadership is taking in response to the deployment of a global antimissile defense system by the Americans,” says retired Col.-General Viktor Yesin.

The new missile may be ready for service “soon” and would boost Russia’s nuclear deterrence “in the uncertain situation”, the former head the Strategic Missile Forces’ General Staff told Interfax news agency.

According to military sources, the upgraded design behind the new weapon focused on its fuel formula. The solid propellant has been improved and allows for a faster boost, shortening the initial phase of the flight. During the boosting phase the missile is relatively slow and predictable, which makes it more vulnerable to anti-missiles.

Little detail about the new ICBM has been revealed. Unofficially dubbed Avangard, it is expected to have a MIRV-ed warhead with improved maneuvering and targeting capabilities of the vehicles. Some reports say that rather than having a traditional “bus” delivering each warhead to its target, designers chose to equip them with individual engines. This would allow active maneuvering on the descent phase.

Silo-based and mobile launcher-mounted versions of the missile are currently in development.

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BBC News
May 23, 2012

Russia tests secret missile after Nato shield launched

A new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) so secret it has no name yet has been successfully tested in Russia, the defence ministry says.

The new weapon is designed to penetrate Nato’s European missile defence shield, Russian defence sources told the Interfax news agency.

The test came days after Nato said its system had reached “interim operational capability”.

The missile carried a dummy warhead and was fired 6,000km (3,730 miles).

It was reportedly the second test of the missile, the first in September having failed.

The test came days after Nato activated its new missile shield in Europe.

The alliance announced the new ballistic missile defence system had reached “interim operational capability”.

Moscow has accused Nato of seeking to undermine its nuclear deterrent but the alliance says its shield is aimed at potential rogue states like Iran.

‘In response’

A mobile launcher on the Plesetsk range fired the new missile at 10:15 (06:15 GMT) on Wednesday, defence ministry spokesman Col Vadim Koval said.

The warhead was delivered successfully to its designated area on the Kura range on Kamchatka, he added.

A military source quoted by Interfax said the new ICBM used a “new type of fuel that helps reduce the time required to operate the propellants in the active stage of the rocket’s trajectory”.

Officials believe this makes it more difficult to detect and easier to manoeuvre.

Interfax said the weapon also features individual warheads that can change course to avoid being shot down.

“This is one of the…measures being developed by Russia’s military and political leadership in response to the US deployment of a global anti-missile system,” former strategic forces director Viktor Yesin told Interfax.

Nato says its shield is meant to protect members from a missile fired by a rogue state – understood to mean Iran. It plans to increase its capability by deploying further assets in the years ahead.

However, Russia says the shield upsets the military balance and has threatened to turn its missile launchers on vital Nato sites.

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Xinhua News Agency
May 23, 2012

Russia test-fires new intercontinental ballistic missile

MOSCOW: Russia has test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk space center in the Arkhangelsk region Wednesday, local media reported.

The prototype of the new missile was launched at 10:15 a.m. Moscow time (0615 GMT), Interfax news agency reported, quoting a military official.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Vadim Koval said the new missile, developed for the Strategic Rocket Forces, was launched successfully with a mobile launch vehicle.

The new weapon is “intended to strengthen the capabilities of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, including its capabilities for overcoming anti-missile defenses,” Koval said.

The missile tested Wednesday had adopted “new technologies and elements” developed in the fifth-generation missile systems, according to the official.

Koval didn’t provide further information on the new missile.

Local media reported the launch was the second such test of the new missile since September.

By using a new fuel to shorten the engine’s boost operation, the missile gains more capabilities to overcome missile defense systems.

Also on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it has placed a new Voronezh-M long-range missile early warning radar station on duty in the Irkutsk region, which is the fourth new-generation station that has joined service in Russia in the past several years.

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Voice of Russia
May 23, 2012

Russia puts new radar on combat duty

Russia put its new-generation radar Voronezh-M on combat duty in the Irkutsk Region, in Eastern Siberia, earlier today. The radar is a ballistic missile early warning system.

According to the Commander of the Russian Aerospace Defence Troops, Lieutenant-General Oleg Ostapenko, Voronezh-M is a unique station of key importance for missile attack early warning.

The new radar’s effective range is 6,000 kilometres, and it can detect ballistic, space-based and aerodynamic objects, including cruise missiles. One radar can effectively control the flight of up to 500 such objects at a time.