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Above: Ballistic missiles developed at the OKB-1 design bureau during 1950s and 1960s. Recent developements within Russian strategic missile systems Published: 2001 Feb. 16 Only two days after US Secretary of Defense criticized Russia for proliferation of missile technology to rogue nations like North Korea and Iran, Russia coincidentally "responded" with the test launches of two ballistic missiles on Friday, February 16. At 13:43 Moscow Time (5:43 a.m. EST) the old Topol-type mobile ICBM blasted off from Plesetsk, successfully hitting Kura target range at Kamchatka Peninsula, according to the press-service of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. The missile used in the test has been in armaments since 1983, much longer than its planned service life. Several minutes before, at 13:28 Moscow Time (5:28 a.m. EST) an unidentified "sea-based" ballistic missile was also launched during the training exercise of the Russian Northern Fleet, the Ministry of Defense said. The launch apparently took place from the submarine in the Barents Sea and involved a long-range ballistic missile. Published: 2002 Oct. 13; updated Oct. 15 Russian armed forces had a busy weekend on Saturday, October 12, 2002, conducting the most extensive missile launching exercise in years. According to the Russian media, an unnamed submarine stationed in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Kalmar submarine in the Barents Sea fired long-range missiles at targets at Cape Kanin Nos in the Russia's northern regions and at Kamchatka Peninsula, at 13:12 and 13:55 Moscow Time respectively. Within 40 minutes after sea-based launches, the Topol (RS-12M) ICBM flew a training mission from Plesetsk to Kamchatka Peninsula. The firing was conducted by the personnel of the Novosibirsk missile division, which had been deployed in Plesetsk in the course of the exercise. The missile used in the launch had been in armaments for 12 years. To complete the picture, after midnight from October 12 to October 13, Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers took off from their bases and after 12 hours in the air launched cruise missiles aimed at targets beyond the polar circle and the Volga River region, located some 4,000 - 5,000 kilometers from the points, where they were launched. The massive exercise also involved Russian space tracking network as well as early-warning infrastructure, including for the first time since the disintegration of the former USSR, radar facilities located in the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Russian antimissile batteries reportedly targeted the "incoming" missiles, but failed to intercept them. Russian press quoted military officials as saying that the exercise was conceived to be a training as well as a political demonstration for NATO and its prospective new members, particularly Baltic republics of the former USSR. Published: 2003 March 27 A week after the US-led coalition invaded Iraq, the Russian military launched an exercise, showcasing the country's missile might. On March 27, 2003, an operational unit of the Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, conducted a training launch of the Topol intercontinental ballistic missile (RS-12M). According to the official information, the missile blasted off at 12:27 Moscow Time from a mobile launcher, deployed at the Plesetsk test range. The operational unit of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, conducted the launch, with the support of Space Forces, KVR. The firing of the Topol missile became a culmination of a training exercise, which was underway in the Teikovo Division of RVSN in the Ivanovo Region, northeast of Moscow. Russia conducts multiple rocket launches, tests new technology. Russia
tests its land, sea and air-based missiles Published: 2004 June 29 Russian Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, test-fired an R-36M missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on June 29, 2004. The flight aimed to certify the service life of such systems for a 20-year period. In the meantime, the submarine Ekaterinburg (Dolphin Class, Project 667) from the Russian Northern Fleet launched a D-9RM ballistic missile from its underwater position in the Barenz Sea. The missile's warhead successfully reached the Kura impact range on Kamchatka Peninsula. On the same day, a Tupolev-95MS strategic bomber conducted a training launch of a long-range cruise missile. After takeoff from its base in the town of Engels, Saratov Region, the aircraft covered around 3,000 kilometers before releasing the missile. The weapon reportedly hit its target on the island of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean. Russia conducts ballistic missile launch Published: 2005 Nov. 1 The Topol missile lifted off from Kapustin Yar test range on Nov. 1, 2005, at 20:10 Moscow Time, heading toward Sary Shagan antimissile test site. The mission apparently tested technical means designed to defeat potential missile defense systems. Russia conducts ballistic missile launch Published: 2006 Aug. 3 Russian Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, conducted a training launch of the RT-2PM Topol intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, Roskosmos announced. The vehicle lifted off on August 3, 2006, at 13:38 Moscow Time from a mobile launcher deployed at Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk. According to Roskosmos, Topol's warhead successfully reached its target at the Kura impact range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. "The launch confirmed battlefield capabilities of the rocket complex and the work effectiveness of the industry, which developed and manufactured the system," Roskosmos' statement said. It was the 80th launch of the Topol missile. Russia tested ballistic missile Published: 2007 Oct. 20 Russia conducted a test launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile, a representative of the Strategic Missile Forces announced. The RS-12M Topol missile lifted off from Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk on October 18, 2007 and headed toward the Kura impact range in the Kamchatka Peninsula. The goal of the mission was to certify the vehicle for extended combat service reaching 23 years, instead of original 10 years. According to the Russian officials, the missile successfully reached its targets. The original Topol missiles were expected to remain in service until 2015. Russia prepares to battle antimissile defense systems Published: 2007 Dec. 8 Russia conducted a missile launch (Topol) from Kapustin Yar, which included testing of technical means designed to defeat potential missile defense systems. The mission targeted Sary Shagan antimissile defense test site. Russia tests Topol missile Published: 2008 Oct. 30 Russian Strategic Rocket Forces conducted a launch of the Topol ICBM. The vehicle, which was in armaments for 21 years, lifted off from Plesetsk on Oct. 12, 2008, at 11:24 Moscow Time (07:24 GMT). According to the official information, the rocket successfully reached the Kura impact range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. 2009 April 30, 12:10 Moscow Time: A combined team of Irkutsk rocket unit and space forces conducted a training launch of the RS-12M Topol missile from Plesetsk, a spokesman for the strategic missile forces said. The goal of the mission was to confirm the missile's characteristics and certify the vehicles of that type for extended service. The rocket used in the mission was manufactured in 1987 and until August 2007 was deployed with the Teikovo division, according to a RVSN official. Topol flies from Kapustin Yar Published: 2009 Dec. 16 Russian Strategic Rocket Forces conducted a launch of the RS-12M Topol ICBM. The vehicle, which was in armaments for around 20 years, lifted off from Kapustin Yar on Dec. 10, 2009, at 15:35 Moscow Time. The vehicle successfully hit its target at the Sary Shagan anit-missile test range, Russian military officials said. Russia launches the 100th Topol missile Published: 2010 Oct. 29 Russian strategic missile forces, RVSN, conducted the 100th launch of the Topol ICBM from the nation's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk on Oct. 28, 2010, at 13:59 Moscow Summer Time. The rocket successfully hit its target on the Kamchatka Peninsula 23 minutes after the liftoff, the official military Zvezda TV channel reported. According to an RVSN spokesman, the particular missile was manufactured in 1987 and was operationally deployed in Teikovo missile base until August 2007. Russian military regularly conducts launches of aging missiles to confirm their operational readiness. The latest mission aimed to validate the extension of operational service of the Topol missiles from original 10 years to 23 years. Topol flies from Kapustin Yar Published: 2010 Dec. 6 A Russian ICBM flew an unusual short-range test mission, likely testing anti-missile defense systems. The RS-12M Topol ballistic missiles lifted off from Kapustin Yar cosmodrome on Dec. 5, 2010, at 22:11 Moscow Time and flew toward Sary Shagan anti-missile test range in Kazakhstan. The rocket's warhead successfully hit its target, Russia's strategic missile forces said. According to the Ministry of Defense spokesman, the purpose of the launch was to confirm flight characteristics of rockets of this class during extended operational life span, to test various tracking systems for the Russian armed forces and to conduct another test of armed payloads for ballistic missile. The particular trajectory of the missile and the official statement hints about possible test of Russia's anti-missile capabilities. Published: 2011 Sept. 4 The Russian Strategic Missile Forces, RVSN, tested a more accurate warhead system for new-generation ballistic missiles. According to the Izvestiya newspaper, quoting an RVSN representative, the Topol missile lifted off from a mobile launcher in Plesetsk cosmodrome on Sept. 3, 2011, at 13:46 Moscow Time. Around 20 minutes later the new warhead carried by the missile hit its target at the impact range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The new warhead was designed for Bulava and Yars missiles, rather than for the Topol ICBM, which launched it, said Vadim Koval, an RVSN spokesman. The same launch also tested the operational readiness of the Topol missile, which had been manufactured in 1988. The mission had qualified missiles of this type for another year of service. Modified Topol-M missile fails in test Published: 2011 Sept. 28 Continuing the checkered record of the Russian rocket industry in 2011, the experimental ballistic missile failed during a test launch. A modified version of the Topol-M ballistic missile lifted off from a mobile launcher deployed at Russia's northern cosmodrome in Plesetsk on Sept. 27, 2011, at 11:08 Moscow Time. The rocket failed almost immediately after the launch during the powered flight of the first stage. A search helicopter found the crash site eight kilometers from the launch pad. According to the Russian media, the accident caused no injuries or damage to property. It took military officials almost 24 hours to confirm the fact of the accident. The launch reportedly aimed to test a multiple warhead system, which is being developed for the new-generation ballistic missile known as RS-24 Yars. Representatives of Moscow Thermal Technology Institute, MIT, reportedly oversaw the test in Plesetsk, alongside military personnel. Russia test-fires a new missile Published: 2012 May 23 A joint team of space forces and strategic missile forces (RVSN) had conducted a test launch of the new type of the intercontinental ballistic missile, official Russian sources said. The vehicle lifted off from a mobile launcher deployed at the nation's northern space launch and test site in Plesetsk on May 23, 2012, at 10:15 Moscow Time. According to a representative of RVSN Vadim Koval, the missile's warhead successfully reached its target in the Kamchatka Peninsula. Although the official statement did not identified the name of the missile, it confirmed that it was based on existing systems (most likely Topol-M) and the first attempt to launch this type of vehicle failed on Sept. 27, 2011. Published: 2012 June 8 An old Topol (RS-12M) missile lifted off from a test range in Kapustin Yar on June 7, 2012, at 21:39 Moscow Time, the official Russian media reported. According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense responsible for Strategic Missile Forces Vadim Koval, the vehicle's warhead successfully hit its target at the Sary Shagan anti-missile test site in Kazakhstan. The launch had a goal of confirming capabilities of old Topol missiles during their extended operational service, but also aimed to help in the development of the new methods for the penetration of the enemy's missile defenses. Apparently, due to the unusual trajectory of the flight along Russia's southern border and a position of the setting sun, the launch was observed as far as the Middle East. Topol flies a test mission Published: 2012 Oct. 25 As part of a large-scale military exercise, which included firings of air-based cruise missiles and submarine-based ballistic missiles, Russian strategic missile forces launched a Topol ICBM from Plesetsk on October 19, 2012, at 13:12 Moscow Time toward the Kura impact site on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Unidentified missile flies from Kapustin Yar Published: 2012 Oct. 25 Russian strategic missile forces, RVSN, fired a prototype of the new intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, from a mobile launcher deployed at the Kapustin Yar test range, official Russian media reported quoting a representative of RVSN. An unidentified vehicle lifted off on October 23, 2012, at 22:28 Moscow Time and flew in the direction of the Sary Shagan anti-missile test site, hitting its virtual target and completing all tasks of its test mission, the RVSN spokesman said.
A comprehensive list of ground-based ballistic missiles developed or proposed in the former USSR since the end of World War II:
This page is maintained by Anatoly Zak; last update: May 13, 2013 All rights reserved |
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