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The "New Form" of Russian Nuclear Missile
From AP, efl President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is developing a new form of nuclear missile unlike those held by other countries, news agencies reported... No details were immediately available, but Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said earlier this month that Russia expected to test-fire a mobile version of its Topol-M ballistic missile this year and that production of the new weapon could be commissioned in 2005. News reports have also said Russia is believed to be developing a next-generation heavy nuclear missile that could carry up to 10 nuclear warheads weighing a total of four tonnes, compared with the Topol-M's 1.2-tonne combat payload. Topol-Ms have been deployed in silos since 1998. The missiles have a range of about 10,000 kilometres and reportedly can manoeuvre in ways that are difficult to detect. Earlier this year, a senior Defence Ministry official was quoted as telling news agencies that Russia had developed a weapon that could make the United States' proposed missile-defence system useless. Details were not given, but military analysts said the claimed new weapon could be a hypersonic cruise missile or manoeuvrable ballistic missile warheads. Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-11-17 |
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