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Russia launches 31-year-old Stiletto missile

The first RS-18 missile, which NATO calls the SS-19 Stiletto, came into service in 1975. It is 24 metres (79 feet) long, with a diameter of 2.5 metres, and can be equipped with up to six warheads.
by Staff Writers
 Moscow (AFP) Oct 22, 2008
 Russia on Wednesday test fired a 31-year-old intercontinental ballistic missile known by its NATO codename Stiletto from the Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan, Russian news agencies reported.

"The launch was carried out in accordance with a programme to prolong the lifetime of the RS-18 strategic missiles," Alexander Vovk, a spokesman for strategic missile forces, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

"The missile launched on Wednesday was 31 years old," Vovk said, without specifying the target for the test. Targets for Russian missile tests are often in the country's Far East Kamchatka peninsula.

The first RS-18 missile, which NATO calls the SS-19 Stiletto, came into service in 1975. It is 24 metres (79 feet) long, with a diameter of 2.5 metres, and can be equipped with up to six warheads.

Russia has stepped up test firing of missiles in recent months while also ratcheting up its rhetoric against US plans to build missile defence installations in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Moscow says the planned US missile shield threatens its national security, while Washington says it will protect against a possible attack from "rogue states" such as Iran.

Baikonur is Russia's main space base and is mostly used for civilian space launches, including flights to the International Space Station.

Built in Soviet times, the base is now in the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan and is leased by the Russian government.

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NUKEWARS
Russia fires missiles, Medvedev says strategic defences 'in order'
 Moscow (AFP) Oct 12, 2008
 Russia fired three long-range missiles Sunday and pronounced its nuclear deterrent strong in an extraordinary show of force experts said had not been seen anywhere since the days of the Cold War.






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