Russia is investing heavily in new military equipment and armaments. They’re even developing and testing an e-VTOL for stealth operations that set to be completed in the next few years. We also talked about a new Russian weapon that could flood coastal cities with radioactive tsunamis back in April. So it’s safe to assume that Russia is building up its strength steadily. Now they’re even testing a new intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM.
The latest intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Russia was successfully launched in a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the northwest of the country. The test’s occurrence was reported by Russia’s TASS news agency this Monday. According to a source from Russia’s defense industry the launch was carried out in Russian Defense Ministry’s first state testing spaceport. It took place somewhere in mid-June.
The new ICBM was developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology or MITT which is a part of Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos. According to the source in the defense ministry, “In mid-June, the latest unique ballistic missile developed by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT) was successfully test-launched from the Plesetsk spaceport”. Intercontinental missiles as the name implies have ranges spanning a whole continent. The minimum range for an ICBM is 5,500 kilometers.
Having an ICBM boosts a country’s defensive capabilities by a lot. These are primarily designed for the delivery of nuclear weapons anywhere inside their range. So Russia having one means that could target anywhere on the Asian continent or maybe even another continent. Though we don’t know the exact range values of Russia’s new ICBM, it should be more than 5,500 km.
The Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology has already started developing the modifications of silo-based and Kedr, a next-generation, solid-fueled ICBM as part of Russia’s efforts to upgrade the country’s strategic armaments. Earlier reports suggested that development wouldn’t begin until 2023-2024. Kedr’s research and development work is currently being financed under the state arms procurement program.
The program is slated to run all through 2027. MITT is also responsible for Russia’s Bulava, Yars, Topol, and Topol-M missiles.