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Russia Test-fires Missiles on Christmas Day

December 26, 2007

Russia test-fired two separate missiles, including one capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads more than 7,000 kilometres, and launched three satellites into orbit on Christmas Day.

The RS-24, an intercontinental ballistic missile, was launched from a facility in northern Russia on Tuesday. Its warheads successfully hit targets at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula almost 7,000 kilometres away.

It is intended to replace an aging missile system established during the Soviet era.

Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk would not confirm how many test warheads the missile held, but the Interfax news agency said the RS-24 can carry at least three.

The Strategic Missile Forces released a statement saying the missile was launched from a mobile launcher and was built by Moscow’s Heat Technology Institute.

“This missile is being created using scientific and technological solutions from the Topol-M missile which allows to significantly reduce time and cost of its development,” the statement said.

Topol-M missiles currently in use can carry one nuclear warhead about 10,000 kilometres. The RS-24 was first test-fired successfully in May.

Also on Tuesday, a Navy spokesman confirmed a ballistic missile launch from a nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.

That missile, designated the RSM-54 Sineva, is capable of carrying four nuclear warheads up to 8,800 kilometres.

President Vladimir Putin has earmarked much of Russia’s oil revenues to update and modernize its military arsenal. He has vocally opposed the U.S. plan to establish missile defence sites in nearby Poland and the Czech Republic.

Moscow said the U.S.’ missile defence system would pose a security threat, and has promised to take counter-measures.

On the same day, Russia’s Federal Space Agency launched three satellites intended to boost the country’s space navigation system, used for both military and civilian purposes.

They were sent into orbit by a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan to join Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System — similar to the U.S. Global Positioning System.

The satellite system was established during the Soviet era, but since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union it has declined from its 24-satellite heyday.

Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Tuesday the three new satellites would bring the fleet to 18 — enough to provide navigation services across Russia.

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He had previously said the service would reach 24 satellites and be available worldwide by 2010.

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