Global Security Newswire

A Russian armed forces unit test-fired a number of short-range Iskander-M missiles as part of a four-day drill, a military official told Interfax on Thursday (see GSN, Aug. 2).

"The most advanced missile were launched in the final stage of the drills," Russian land forces spokesman Lt. Col. Nikolai Dyomushkin said. The nation's 630th missile battalion carried out the exercise at the Kapustin Yar testing area in the Astrakhan region.

Iskander units use movable launchers and are designed for hitting ground-based assets including control centers, personnel, missile defense and air defense systems, fire support sites and nonoperational air vehicles, Interfax reported. The system's nonstrategic missiles are suited to deliver nuclear or non-nuclear payloads, according to an earlier report (Interfax, Nov. 10).