Russians successfully launch new multiple-warhead nuke

Published Wednesday, December 26, 2007

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia’s military yesterday successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads - a weapon intended to replace aging Soviet-era missiles.

The RS-24 missile was launched from the Plesetsk launch facility in northern Russia, and its test warheads successfully hit designated targets on the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula some 4,340 miles east, Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk told The Associated Press.

Vovk said the missile carried multiple test warheads, but refused to say how many.

The Interfax news agency said the RS-24 is capable of carrying at least three warheads.

The Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement that the missile was launched from a mobile launcher.

The Strategic Missile Forces said the RS-24 missile is designed to replace Soviet-built missiles with multiple nuclear warheads, such as the RS-18 and RS-20. Those missiles are known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan.