Russia has successfully tested a new anti-ballistic missile, Colonel Pavel Kuzmin, a spokesman for the Russian air and anti-missile defence command of the Aerospace force, said Tuesday.
“After a series of tests, the new anti-ballistic missile hit an assigned target with a given accuracy,“ a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry quoted Kuzmin as saying.
The missile is designed to counter ballistic missile attacks and was launched from the Sary-Shagan test range in Kazakhstan, the statement said.
It did not provide more details other than mentioning that the launch was not the missile’s first.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry’s website, Moscow has successfully tested anti-ballistic missiles at the Sary-Shagan test range once or twice a year since 2011 and at least five times in 2018.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that in Feb. 2018, the Russian military successfully test-fired a new interceptor missile from the Sary Shagan test range.
The interceptor was apparently the replacement for the 53T6 short-range anti-ballistic missiles, which serve as part of an ABM shield.
In March of the same year, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled an ambitious suite of brand-new nuclear weapons during his State of the Nation address.
The sophisticated weaponry included the newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nuclear-powered drone submarines, and even combat lasers.
During the same month, the Russian leader said in an interview with NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today that a new arms race had been started by Washington when it decided to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. “If we are to speak of an arms race, then an arms race started precisely at that point,” he stated. (Xinhu/NAN)