MOSCOW, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Russia successfully test-fired a Topol RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile, a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Col. Igor Yegorov said the simulated warhead was fired at 9:30 p.m. Moscow time Friday from the Kapustin Yar testing range in the Astrakhan Region and hit a designated target at a test range in Kazakhstan, RIA Novosti reported.
The missile, put into service in 1985 and referred to as a SS-25 Sickle by NATO, has a maximum range of 10,000 kilometers (6,125 miles) and can carry a nuclear warhead with a yield of up to 550 kilotons.
The Defense Ministry says it intends to retire most of its SS-18 Satan, SS-19 Stiletto and SS-25 Sickle ICBMs, and replace them with SS-27 Sickle-B (Topol-M) and RS-24 Yars missiles by 2021, RIA Novosti said.
