Russia has successfully test-fired an RS-26 Rubezh ballistic missile that can penetrate the sophisticated missile defenses.
The missile’s dummy warhead hit its target at the Sary Shagan range in Kazakhstan just minutes after takeoff from the Kapustin Yar rocket launch and development site in the southern Astrakhan region on March 18, Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday.
The initial test launch of the RS-26 ICBM from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on September 28, 2011 failed with the missile veering and landing just eight kilometers from the launch site. All subsequent tests in 2012, 2013 and 2015 proved successful.
The RS-26 Rubezh is expected to become operational in 2016.Currently it is unknown whether this missile carries a single warhead or Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs).
Both configurations were tested in 2013. Rubezh is more accurate than current ballistic missiles.