Russia Test-Fires Soviet-era Missile
By VOA News
22 October 2008
Russia has test-fired an old Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to check on the weapon's reliability and extend its service.
A spokesman for Russia's strategic missile forces, Colonel Alexander Vovk, said the military launched the RS-18 missile Wednesday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
He said the launch confirmed its reliability. He said the results of the test supported the decision to extend use of the missile until at least 2031.
Moscow started using the RS-18 missile, which NATO calls the SS-19 Stiletto, in the 1970s.
Russia's strategic forces have conducted regular test launches of 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.
Earlier this month, Russia fired two missiles from submarines in the Pacific Ocean and the Barents Sea, and one from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia.
President Dmitri Medvedev said Russia will continue to develop new types of weapons. But he praised the existing system's effectiveness, calling Russia's missile shield "fine."
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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