Russia successfully completed its tenth test firing of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday, the press service of Russia’s strategic missile command said.
The missile was launched at 12:59 p.m. (0959 GMT) from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northwest Arkhangelsk. At 1:24 pm (1024 GMT) the missile struck its target at a military base in Kura, on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian far east, 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) away.
The first test firing of a Topol-M took place on December 20, 1994. Russia posesses 20 such missiles, according to the ITAR-TASS news agency.
The strategic arms reduction treaty START II, signed with the United States in 1993 but not yet ratified by Russia’s parliament, calls for Russia to replace its SS-18 missiles, which have multiple warheads, with single warhead missiles such as the Topol-M.
The Topol-M can be fired from silos or from mobile launchers. It is 22.7 meters (75 feet) long and has a diameter of 1.95 meters (6 feet 3 inches). The missile weighs 47.2 tonnes and has a range of 11,000 kilometres (6,900 miles).
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