The missile tested by Russia last week has been tipped to be a new version of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed on April 12 to have successfully conducted the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kapustin Yar rocket launch complex in the Astrakhan Oblast, southern Russia.
The statement alleged the move was part of “state testing of prospective missile systems, as well as confirmation of the stability of missiles in service”.
The test launched achieved its results “in full” and confirmed “high reliability of Russian missiles to ensure strategic security”, the statement claimed.
Russia, which regularly carries out test launches of ICBMs and other missiles, didn’t name the type of missile it tested, allowing for speculation to run wild.
Among those who took part in the conversation was Russian propagandist and military commentator Colonel Viktor Baranets, who joked “all NATO intelligence services are on their toes” following this test.
Writing in the pro-Kremlin news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda, the columnist mused over reports the missile “waltzed” in the sky, leaving bizarre smoke trails behind.
Colonel Baranets said “many experts” who have visioned clips of the launch believe the missile to be a new, “mobile” version of the Yars ICBM.
Existing Yars need to be loaded into a silo to be launched, which could be targeted by enemies, the commentator noted.
In his comment piece, he suggested defence systems of Russia’s enemies could struggle to detect this weapon, as he said: “Try to detect a well-camouflaged and also ‘running’ launcher!”
Addressing reports of the “strange pirouettes” performed in the sky by the missile, the military commentator said a missile detection system would be “brain-damaged if it tried to understand the flight logic of such a missile and calculate its trajectory”.
Colonel Baranets added a similar system would be able to replace the existing Topol-M complexes.
The RS-24 Yars, also known as Topol-MR, is a missile system able to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, enabling it to deliver several nuclear warheads to different targets, and was first tested in 2007 and deployed operationally in 2010.
This test came as tensions between Russia and NATO remain high, particularly as it is feared Moscow could be gaining the upper hand in Ukraine amid dwindling military aid from the West.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin recently branded Western fears he is eyeing up another European country to attack as “drivel”, NATO members, particularly those on the eastern flank, are bolstering their defence capabilities.
An attack on a NATO member state would trigger the response of the whole military alliance in accordance with its mutual defence agreement, and possibly drag the world into a new conflict.
