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By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 22, 2008; 11:19 AM MOSCOW -- Russia's efforts to upgrade its missile arsenals will help
counter the planned U.S. missile defense sites in Europe, a top general
said Wednesday.
Russia's Strategic Missile Force chief, Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov,
said the military will commission a new type of intercontinental
ballistic missile and modify the existing missiles. Solovtsov said that the new RS-24 missile equipped with multiple nuclear
warheads will enter service next year. "Its deployment will increase the Strategic Missile Forces' capability
to penetrate missile defense systems, thus strengthening the nuclear
deterrent potential of Russian strategic forces," he said in a statement
carried by Russian news agencies.
ad_icon Solovtsov said the military conducted two test launches of the RS-24
last year and will make another one before the year's end. Russian
officials have said it would gradually replace Soviet-built ballistic
missiles. Solovtsov added that the military will also upgrade the existing types
of missiles to fit them with decoys intended to counter the prospective
U.S. missile shield. Russia has denounced a U.S. plan to deploy a battery of 10 missile
interceptors in Poland and a related missile defense radar in the Czech
Republic, saying it threatened Russian security. It has dismissed the
U.S. claim that the sites were intended to counter a prospective missile
threat from Iran and was not aimed against Russia. Russian officials have threatened to point nuclear missiles at the
countries that will allow U.S. missile defense sites on their territory. "We are fully confident that the Strategic Missile Forces will be
capable of providing a guaranteed nuclear deterrent in the long time to
come," Solovtsov said. He said the military will maintain the Soviet-built missiles, including
those that were manufactured in Ukraine. "We have agreements with
Ukraine that would allow us to maintain their capability," Solovtsov said. Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said it successfully test-fired an
intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday as part of regular efforts
to check the readiness of Soviet-built missiles. Russia's Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk said the
RS-18 missile was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
He said in a statement that the launch was intended to confirm the
missile's reliability as part of efforts to extend the lifetime of this
type of missile. Russia's strategic forces have conducted regular test launches of
Soviet-built ballistic missiles to check their performance. The military
has repeatedly extended the lifetime of Soviet-built weapons as the
government lacks the funds to replace them quickly with new weapons.
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