Russia test fires inter-continental missile

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Oct 29, 2007
Russia test fired an inter-continental ballistic missile on Monday from a cosmodrome in neighbouring Kazakhstan, Russian news agencies reported.

The RS-18 missile, known under Western classification systems as an SS-19 Stiletto, was aimed at a test ground in the Kamchatka peninsula in far eastern Russia, said a spokesman for Russia's strategic missile forces.

The test was intended to check the continued effectiveness of the missile's flight systems, Lieutenant Colonel Vadim Koval was quoted as saying by Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency.

It comes with tensions on the rise over United States' plans to site missile defence facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland, prompting comparisons with the Cold War military build-ups between the West and Russia.

Russia last tested one of its RS-18 missiles, which were first produced in the 1970s, in November last year.

Russia has about 160 such missiles. They have a launch weight of 105 tonnes and height of 24 metres (80 feet) and are equipped to overcome missile defence systems.

Russia continues to use the Baikonur cosmodrome in its neighbour Kazakhstan under a rental agreement with the ex-Soviet republic.

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MISSILE NEWS

Outside View: The case for JASSM

Washington (UPI) Oct 25, 2007
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