The ICBM -- NATO designation SS-25 Sickle -- was prepared for firing by a combined task force drawn from Russia's Strategic Missile Forces and its Space Forces, the report said.

The exercise was carried out not only to evaluate the ICBM's flight characteristics and extreme accuracy but also to explore the capabilities of a new warhead that had been installed on it to penetrate modern anti-ballistic missile defenses, RIA Novosti said.

"An experimental warhead hit a target at a testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula with high precision, demonstrating its capability to deliver pinpoint strikes on well-defended targets," Col. Alexander Vovk stated, according to the report.

"The performance data gathered during the test launch will be used to increase the effectiveness of future Russian mobile ballistic missile units," Vovk said.

RIA Novosti also quoted Vovk as saying that the Topol, whose service life last year was stated to be 21 years, was still the mainstay of Russia's mobile strategic missile forces.

RIA Novosti said the Russian missile forces currently were engaged in a program to upgrade the offensive penetration capabilities of their ICBMs in reaction to the Bush administration's drive to deploy Ground-Based Mid-course Interceptors in Poland. The U.S. government wants to deploy those missiles to guard against any future Iranian ICBM threat to the United States or Western Europe, but Russia maintains the real purpose of the deployment is to neutralize any survivable second-strike capability by its own domestically deployed ICBM force.

The report quoted Vovk as saying the most cost-effective and rapidly practical way to allow Topol ICBMs to escape U.S. missile defense systems was to apply asymmetrical capabilities to them.

"These measures include enhanced 'stealth' capability, a variability of flight trajectory and the use of warheads capable of penetrating any missile shield," he stated.

RIA Novosti said the RS-12M Topol could reach a maximum range of 6,125 miles with a payload of one 550-kiloton nuclear warhead. It said last Thursday's Topol test firing was the first in nearly nine months. The last such exercise occurred on Dec. 8, 2007.

India plans new ABM interceptor test in November
India is planning to carry out the third test launch of its home-made anti-ballistic missile in November, the Indo-Asian News Service reported from Bangalore Friday.

Progress on developing the new missile has been relatively slow. The first successful test launch occurred in November 2006 and the second took place in December 2007, IANS noted. Therefore there will have been at least an 11-month delay before the next scheduled test.

As we have noted previously in these columns, while the pure research and prototype developments in India's long-range ballistic missile and anti-ballistic missile programs have been impressive, many doubts remain over the country's ability to advance by itself in relatively fast time to the reliable mass production of such weapons up to operational standards. The rapid development and operational deployment of the impressive supersonic, Mach 2-plus BrahMos cruise missile, which India has co-developed with Russia, stands in striking contrast to the continuing classical progress on the ABM interceptor program, which remains entirely "made in India."

The next test is scheduled for Nov. 6 at the Chandipur-on-sea interim test range in coastal Orissa state, IANS cited a senior Indian defense official as announcing Friday.

"Preparations are on to conduct the interceptor missile test for building an indigenous defense shield in early November. It is aimed at intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles from a long range," Indian defense scientist V.K. Saraswat stated to the news agency.

The new test will seek to prove the 23-foot-long interceptor's capabilities at a higher altitude than the last exercise last December, Saraswat said.

"We have already conducted a test in endo-atmosphere at a distance of 48 kilometers -- 28.8 miles. We are aiming at much higher altitude in exo-atmosphere, which is 50 kilometers to 75 kilometers -- 30 miles to 45 miles -- above the earth," said Saraswat, who IANS described as being chief controller of research and development of the missile program at India's Defense Research and Development Organization.

"The test will reinforce our capability in installing a two-layered ballistic missile defense shield to protect vulnerable areas from an incoming enemy missile and strengthen our national security," Saraswat announced.

IANS said the new interceptor would carry "inertial navigation system and electro-mechanical actuators to enable it to perform critical maneuvers required to engage the incoming missile during the latter's terminal phase.

"With the third test, we will have the entire BMD capability to detect, intercept and destroy intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles in the 5,000 kilometer -- 3,000 mile -- (range) coming from any country," Saraswat said.

IANS said the interceptor's new tracking and fire control radars had been built by DRDO working with Israel and France.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com