Russia plans in the near future to begin replacing its mobile-launched Topol-M ICBMs with a new missile design capable of delivering multiple independently targeted warheads, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 17).
"As for our missile troops, we will keep the current grouping. We will gradually switch from the Topol-M to new missile systems with MIRV warheads. This year we are completing their tests, [introducing] them into service and [launching] mass production," said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin.
"To guarantee our country's security, its strategic nuclear forces must be maintained and developed as the first priority," he added (Interfax, Sept. 23).