Russian Missile Battalion to get Topol-M This Year

A battalion in the Russian Strategic Missile Forces is expected to be equipped with Topol-M mobile missile systems this year, Interfax reported today (see GSN, Dec. 20, 2005).

“Retraining of the crews will start in February,” said Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Belousov.

The Topol-M ICBM is expected to be able to defeat missile defenses like the system being prepared in the United States (Interfax, Jan. 31).

The Russian R-36M Voyevoda heavy ICBMs — known in the West as the Satan — are expected to remain in service until 2016, Interfax reported.

“The SMF inventory contains 80 Voyevoda ICBMs at the moment,” Col. Gen Nikolai Solovtsov, Strategic Missile Forces commander, told the Krasnaya Zvezda daily. “The missiles will be removed from combat duty as soon as their service lives expire. The process will last until 2016” (Interfax, Jan. 31).

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