Alwaght- Russia has test fired three intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBM) as part of a routine exercise of the country’s strategic nuclear forces, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in an October 26 statement.
“A squad of the Strategic Missile Force fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk towards the Kura test range in Kamchatka,” the MoD said. The missile was launched from a road-mobile transporter erector launcher. The Plesetsk space center is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, approximately 800 kilometers north of Moscow.
In addition, “a nuclear submarine of the Pacific Fleet carried out a salvo launch of two ballistic missiles from the Sea of Okhotsk towards the Chizha testing range in the Arkhangelsk region,” the MoD said. “A nuclear submarine of the North Fleet fired a ballistic missile from the Barents Sea towards Kura.”
The military exercise also involved supersonic Tupolev-160, Tupolev-85MS and Tupolev-22MZ strategic bombers. The aircraft launched cruise missiles at ground targets at Kura, Pemboi testing range in the northeastern region of Komi, and Terekta in Kazakhstan, according to the MoD.
All missiles reportedly hit their practice targets. Save the Topol-M, the Russian MoD did not reveal the type of missiles fired from the air and sea. It also did not specify the class of ballistic missile submarines involved in the drill.
The missiles launched from the strategic bombers were likely Kh-101/Kh-102 (the nuclear variant of the Kh-101) air-launched cruise missiles with an estimated range of 2,700 to 5,000 kilometers (1677 to 3,100 miles).
