Russia test launches Topol missile with new warhead

The Russian Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) test-fired a Topol RS-12M intercontinental ballistic missile with a new warhead on Saturday, local media reported. Col. Vadim Koval, a spokesman for the RVSN, told the Interfax news agency that the Topol RS-12M missile, which has been in service for 23 years, was launched from the Plesetsk space center in the Arkhangelsk region. "The missile's experimental warhead hit a training target on a range in the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula with high precision," Koval said. The service life of Topol RS-12M has been extended to 23 years. The missile, with a range of up to 10,000 kilometers, can carry a single nuclear warhead with a yield of 550 kilotons.