Russia to upgrade Iskander-M missile

April 11 (UPI) -- Russia's state-owned Rostec corporation announced plans to upgrade the country's Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems on Tuesday.

Speaking with the TASS news agency, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said his company aims to deliver an improved tactical missile to the Kremlin by 2020.

"In accordance with the adopted strategy of the cluster Armaments within ten years we are going to upgrade the tactical missile systems," he said. "After 2020 an upgraded version of the Iskander system will be presented."

Russian defense officials went on to note the Machine-Building Design Bureau KBM, which is responsible for developing the Iskander-M and various other smart weapon systems, turned 75 on the day of Chemezov's interview.

KBM is Russia's only designer of the Iskander system. It also develops shoulder-launched anti-aircraft platforms as well as anti-tank weapons.

The Iskander-M is a tactical ballistic missile system designed to conduct strikes on small, high-value land targets. The system is capable of hitting targets roughly 173 miles away from its launch site. It's effective range has been limited in accordance to the Missile Technology Control Regime.