Topol-M to form core of Russian missile arsenal after 2015
Moscow, 15 May: Silo-launched and mobile Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles will form the core of the Strategic Missile Troops grouping after 2015, director of the Moscow Institute of Heat Technology and designer-general of the Topols Yuriy Solomonov told journalists today. "Missiles of the previous generation will in practical terms be incapable of alert status by that time, they are becoming obsolescent," he said. "Certainly, Topol-M is the most modern missile. It belongs to the next generation of missile weaponry and differs fundamentally from everything that has been done before in this field in our country and abroad. This concerns its tactical technical features and also the features of its combat use, which is designed for conditions of possible counteraction by antimissile defence systems," he said. The standardized solid-fuel three-stage Topol-M missile can be fitted with a single or multiple warhead and was designed at the Moscow Institute of Heat Technology. It has a range of over 11,000 km, it has a launch weight of 47 tonnes and a warhead weight of 1.2 tonnes. There are currently four Strategic Missile Troops regiments armed with the silo-launched Topol-M system which are on alert status. Flight tests of the Topol-M missile system using a mobile launch pad are to be completed this year. The first regiment armed with mobile Topol-M missiles could go on alert status in 2006. |
