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Russia Test Launches RS-18 ICBM
Moscow (AFP) Jun 27, 2001 Russia launched a test inter-continental ballistic missile Wednesday from its Baikonur testing range in the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, news agencies reported. The RS-18 missile was fired at 8:35 am (0435 GMT). It later successfully struck a target on the Kura military base on Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, some 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) to the northeast, authorities said. "This test proves the reliability of our rocket division," a Russian strategic forces official told ITAR-TASS. With a payload of 4.5 tonnes, the RS-18 (classified as SS-19 by NATO) is considered the second most powerful missile in the Russian arsenal behind the Satan multiple warhead rocket, now outlawed by disarmament agreements. There are 140 RS-18 missiles in the Russian arsenal, while some 90 have been successfully tested since first coming into operation in 1975. While Russia regularly tests its ballistic missiles, the latest launch comes in the heat of a tense debate with Washington over US plans to scrap the 1972 ABM treaty in order to start building a new missile defense shield. Russia and China are both lobbying furiously against the US proposal. Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently threatened to scrap other disarmament agreements, loading Russian rockets with multiple missile warheads in order to counter the US shield. However senior Russian defense officials this week toned down the rhetoric, noting Moscow was not intent on sparking a new arms race and willing to continue negotiations over the ABM treaty. All rights reserved. � 2000 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Military Space News at SpaceWar.com
Space Group To Activate New Unit
Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Jan 6, 2006Air Force Reserve Command's 310th Space Group will travel deeper into the space program when it activates a new unit Jan. 7. Headquarters Reserve National Security Space Institute will be a Reserve associate unit to the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, Colo. The institute is the Department of Defense's focal point for providing education about space power in joint warfighting. |
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