Russia test fires dummy warheads from planes, sub, silo

Russian Topol Missile

Russia brandished its nuclear muscle on Friday as it fired dummy warheads from its planes and a submerged submarine as well as an underground bunker in a test of their continued effectiveness.

The unusually well-coordinated show of force coincided with tensions between Moscow and Washington over space defense issues and Russia’s commitment to democratic freedoms under President Vladimir Putin’s third term. The Russian defense ministry and a navy officials said the Topol and R-29R rockets were fired from an underground bunker and a submerged submarine on opposite sides of the country in the northwest and Far East.

They each flew more than 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) in opposing directions before hitting their targets at precisely scheduled times. “The Topol’s reliability assessment shows that its operations can be extended in the future,” the defence ministry said in a statement. A navy official separately told Interfax new agency that the submarine test showed the missile’s “high level of effectiveness.”

The official added that the submarine launch was the first such conducted this year. Yet another defence ministry official later announced that two strategic bombers — which can reach any spot on earth from their home bases to drop nuclear bombs — had also conducted successful cruise missile tests.

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