RS-24
New missile can beat any defence system
Published 26 November, 2008, 17:04
Russia’s military has tested a new-generation of intercontinental nuclear ballistic rocket. Defence sources say the RS-24, capable of carrying multiple independent warheads, can penetrate any defence system.
The missile was launched on November 26 from a mobile launcher at the northwestern Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Arkhangelsk region.
It reportedly travelled 6,000 miles across Russia to the Kamchatka Peninsula where the missile's multiple re-entry vehicles successfully landed on targets on the Kura testing range.
RS-24 is heavier than its predecessor – the RS-12 (Topol M), created in response to the missile shield that the United States wants to deploy in Europe.
The new rocket will replace ageing Ukrainian made RS-18 and RS-20 (known in NATO circles as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan).
Together with the Topol-M (SS-27 by NATO designation) the new missile system will constitute the backbone of Russia’s strategic missile forces till 2050.
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